The Senator is a Physician

by Sen. Wm Frist

But when do we try out the alternatives?

Following is an excerpt from an interview of Sen. Bill Frist which appeared in the Christian Science Monitor.

On testing market-based approaches to providing healthcare for seniors as a way to control costs:

(Frist) "The whole idea of innovating now with careful protection for people who are in the program itself is to see if the marketplace will work. If our model works and competition, true competition, comes to the table where individuals are empowered to consume, to make smart choices outside of price fixing, it may well be that we don't have to do anything in terms of raising taxes in the future.

"If we use the traditional model, the 1965 model, of benefits that are micromanaged by congressmen, senators actually sitting here and setting prices, not having preventative (sic) medicine, not having coordinated care, not having disease management, then absolutely – if we are not going to change, as this bill begins to change, you would have to cut benefits or raise taxes. If this model works, you would not have to."

Ed Note: Dr/Sen Frist emphasizes three points (preventive care, coordinated care, disease management) which could be accomplished in a system which gave more power to patients and their providers, and removed it from the government and insurance companies, including for-profit HMOs. There's more than enough money here. It just isn't being used right. Our desire to return to the good old days of one-on-one doctor visits of the 60s and before isn't going to be realized. It's too expensive as well as being inefficient. TAM