http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/business/economy/07leonhardt.html?hp
Do you think they miss the point on purpose? The second sentence of that article tells the entire story. The federal government wants to set up "institutions" that decide what care is worth it. We already have the medical societies and the university medical centers doing studies to determine the best outcome treatments. This takes a while to establish, but is being done all the time. What people don't trust is the government coming in to decide what is reasonable on a one size fits all plan. The article contradicts itself when it describes patients deciding that more is not necessarily better when given the tradeoffs of treatment, but also describes the public (which is the same as patients, isn't it?) wants everything. What the patient needs is a primary care doctor who stays current on the information available, giving the best advice he can on treatment options and side-effects. Then the patient has the option of deciding what is appropriate for his own case. What the patient doesn't want is a government agency deciding what if appropriate. Who knows what criteria they used to decide your medical care?
