Liberal Values Defending Liberty and Enlightened Thought

2 Comments

1. 1

   

   Fritz says:
   

   June 24th 2009 at 7:51 pm  

   So Ron… Since you know a hell of a lot more about this than I do, is this WSJ piece tolerably accurate?
   http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124536864955329439.html
    

2. 2

   

   Ron Chusid says:
   

   June 24th 2009 at 9:20 pm  

   It is totally inaccurate. Medical Home and HMO are not the same. They are trying to rely on using problems with HMO’s to scare people off of Obama’s plans.

   Medical Homes has to do with encouraging patients to call their primary care physician, who manages the care, but not with the types of restrictions which are common to HMO’s. The Medical Home also includes ideas like having primary care doctors have extended office hours (so people call their “home” rather than going to the ER), using computer programs to track who is overdue for pap smears and other tests, and using electronic medical records which people covering after hours will have access to.

   The article is also misleading because it does not require people to sign up for a “qualified plan.”  A plan would have to meet the requirements of a qualified plan (which does not mean HMO requirements) to be sold thru the Gateways but the plan also says people would have the option of purchasing health plans without going through the Gateways.

   Note this is on the Opinion page. The opinion page of the WSJ typically prints false information to promote right wing policies. In contrast the news sections are much more honest. In general if you wonder if something from the WSJ is acccurate simply check if it is coming from the news or opinion section.