British Health Services Target Of Cost Reductions

Please review the following article from ABC News about the new health care reforms that will be proposed in England.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=12631311

As I scanned the article a few things jumped out. It isn't odd to consider that the Health Services Department is under the knife in terms of receiving cuts and reviews to improve efficiency (for goodness sakes, it's a government operation!) What did strike me though is that this bloated service is the nation's largest employer. How easy do you think it will be to cut jobs (save money) there?

It is also amusing to me that ABC writes that the health plan is wildly popular! Of course it is, it is free at the point of service! The majority of folks never complain if something is free! As you know, it isn't free and the taxes on income and the VAT (value added tax) are oppressive. Unfortunately, no one ever talks about the out of control costs associated with this entitlement. Last, we never hear the truth about the fact that England is a budgetary disaster!

Finally, I found it funny that ABC embedded a video in the web-page that was supportive of the British Health Services and tried to contrast backwoods US senior citizens in interviews against the view that all the health needs would be met. I've noticed these types of manipulation often appear in pieces about healthcare. Basically ABC News avoids commenting on why the health agency would need to cut costs, why it might not work as well as we've been told, and then posts a few fat goofball Americans in a video to give you the sense that there is no way these people could be right in their view. Finally, they go to great efforts to bring in the story about Stephen Hawking and how he would have not lived had it not been for the NHS.

Is there anyway to have a discussion about socialized medicine without all the spin? Clearly ABC is looking for more of the NHS style of healthcare rather than less. I'm just looking for reporting without the agenda and a focus on the total cost of providing medical services to all.

Jason W Bohmann
Texas Health Design
www.texashealthdesign.com
713-422-2935