Strike one for the little guy. A pensioner (that’s a “senior” to us Yanks) has won a court battle to stop a US healthcare giant from taking over a GP practice. The giant in question is United HealthGroup which apparently has also got a few other problems.
Perhaps doctors and hospitals in Arizona, St Louis and the outer boroughs of New York City should be flying in 67 year old Ms Pam Smith, 67, a former hosiery worker and Labour councillor from the huge metropolis of Langwith, Derbyshire, to advise them on how to “work” with United?
Both Canada and the UK are under constant attack from the health profit industry, not the health care industry. Companies do see openings in those systems where they can set up business models to fill certain voids, but it is a consatnt nip, nip, nip that will in time undermine the universal access system. And it will, as this system shows, eventually drive up costs and reduce access. I wouldn’t be as concerned about cafe’ medical services if those same services by law had to see about 50% of their patients from the universal system, and get paid accordingly. That way there would less likelyhood of drawing off prime and limited resources from the healthcare economy. I would though be suspect as to the, “practice variations” shown gov. pay patients.