The antics of Congressional Republicans trying to vandalize the Affordable Care Act are outside my brief here at Illinois Times, except to the extent that they threaten to do harm to Illinoisans. Happily, Illinois Issues' Kristy Kennedy has written the piece I haven't had the time or space to write, and done it better.
Among its other virtues, Kennedy gets at one of the stubborn realities about health care in the U.S. that make it so intractable a problem.
Quality of care is associated with bedside manner and convenient access to services more than actual outcomes. Meanwhile, there’s a flaw in the way healthcare is financed and the delivery of care. Insurance companies want to reduce costs, but providers are mostly paid by the volume of patients they see. Also, technological advances play a role in rising costs. Patients expect their providers to have the latest and greatest when perhaps an older model would perform the same scan or test just as well.
Much else here to ponder. Read it and pray.
