Benjamin Rush Society
Rep. Tom Price, MD, At University of Colorado, March 13
"The Nexus of Medicine and Politics is Closer Than You Think!"
L-R: Mr. Graham, Dr. Vecchio, Mr. N. Lamborn, Rep. D. Lamborn, Dr. Price, Mrs. Morin
Congressman Tom Price, MD (GA-6) spoke at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, on Tuesday, March 13, 2012, as a guest of the local chapter of the Benjamin Rush Society.
Nathan Lamborn, president of the chapter, invited students and faculty from the schools of medicine, dentistry, and pharmaceutical sciences, as well as community leaders who are opposed to the federal government controlling our access to medical services. These included Dr. Jill Q Vecchio, MD, of Docs4PatientCare; Michelle Morin, a civic leader well-known to Coloradans as the Mom4Freedom; and Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO-5). John R. Graham, Executive Director of the Benjamin Rush Society, came from San Francisco to participate in the event.
For an edited video of the event, please see this YouTube link.
Dr. Price told the audience that it is impossible for doctors and other health professionals to focus on patients' needs if they are controlled by the federal government. He also briefed us on his own health-reform legislation, The Empowering Patients First Act (H.R. 3000), which is an important alternative for Congress and the American people to consider to replace the failed PPACA, after it is repealed.
Dr. Price emphasized that health professionals and all citizens concerned with health care need to be involved in politics. "If you're not, someone else will take your place", according to the physician-legislator.
Can Benjamin Rush Society Bring Free-Market Ideas to Medical Schools?
Well, here at BRS, we think the answer is "Yes!" Avik Roy, of Forbes.com, has a feature article of that title, which profiles our growing Society. Read it online here.
Philanthropy Magazine Features Benjamin Rush Society
You may not have known that the Benjamin Rush Society was founded along the lines of The Federalist Society, a national society of law students.
Thirty years ago, enterprising laws students founded a society to counter "campus orthodoxies" about the role of government. The success of The Federalist Society inspired similar efforts amongst students of foreign affairs, business, and - of course - medicine! Students of all these professions, who were concerned about inappropriate government growth, have formed societies to develop ideas, energy, and fellowship. In the November 2011 issue of Philanthropy Magazine carries an exellent feature article, describing the founding of The Benjamin Rush Society and its sister (and mother) organizations. Read the online version here.
The views expressed in articles posted on this site are those of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Benjamin Rush Society.
What Health Spending Would Look Like in 2014 Under ObamacareBy Jeffrey H. Anderson A new report from federal officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) says that Obamacare will increase nationwide health care spending. Particularly interesting are the report’s findings for 2014, the year that’s slated for Obamacare’s grand opening (if the overhaul isn’t repealed first). The report predicts that the growth in health care spending in Obamacare’s real first year (2014) would be 8.3 percent, which is more than double the growth in health care spending (3.9 percent) in the year that Obamacare was passed into law (2010). Again, this is the verdict of government officials working within the Obama administration. The report breaks down what it predicts will be “a significant acceleration in the national health spending growth rate in 2014 (8.3 percent, compared to 5.5 percent in 2013)”: ObamaCare’s Imposition Will Lead To An Unhealthy State Of Wellbeing Piping Up The study focuses on a 2008 Oregon lottery that offered 90,000 people the opportunity to apply for 10,000 slots in the state’s Medicaid program. Economists compared two similar, randomly generated populations: one with access to Medicaid coverage and one without. The researchers concluded that those covered by Medicaid sought more care, had lower out-of-pocket expenses and medical debt, and felt better. The Democrats’ Fuzzy MathBy Jeffrey H. Anderson President Obama and the Democrats claim that the Medicare reforms proposed by Paul Ryan and the Republicans would shift the burden of health costs onto the backs of seniors. This has been the central—and essentially the only—argument the Democrats have made against the GOP plan. But the Democrats’ claim is contradicted by four decades’ worth of empirical evidence. Under Ryan’s proposal, the government would provide premium support to future seniors (who are now under 55) to help them purchase a private health plan of their choice. Participating insurers would have to cover all comers and couldn’t vary premiums based on health status. The poor would get additional help. The reforms are designed to facilitate competition and choice, without having government bureaucrats ration care. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), however, projects that increasing competition and choice would actually raise costs. While saying it “is hard to predict,” the CBO projects that spending under Ryan’s plan “would grow faster than such spending for the same beneficiary in traditional Medicare.” But experience suggests the opposite. |
