After a thoughtful discussion of John Goodman’s recent WSJ piece, Dr. Rob at Musings of a Distractible Mind asks his readers the following three-part question:
Does healthcare reform require more or less government intervention? Should quality be rewarded? If so, how do you avoid the pitfalls so many fear from P4P?
Well, the answer to part three more or less determines the responses to parts one and two. Kevin, M.D. links to an article discussing the perverse incentives that P4P will bring to bear on physicians. Similar perverse incentives will be felt by hospitals under Medicare’s Hospital Quality Initiative. Such unintended (and negative) consequences are the inevitable result of government meddling in health care. So, unless we want even poorer service for patients, more disgruntled physicians, and more hospitals teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, I think the answer is (a lot) less government intervention.Unrealistic? Probably. But hope springs eternal in the human breast.
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