Any way you look at it, this can’t be good: Arizona is going to cut programs that help developmentally disabled children. Parents of these children aren’t happy, and they are suing.
Why is the programs being cut? Two words: Arizona’s broke. And they aren’t the only ones. President Obama just ordered his cabinet to find $100 million in budget cuts, and the budget experts started laughing. “Save” 100 million dollars when we just passed a $787 BILLION stimulus package? Somebody failed math class.
States are already cutting social programs. California has ended dental coverage for its residents on Medicaid. Just watch, in a few years California will have a “dental crisis”.
So, class, riddle me this: If we’re in this kind of financial trouble now, what will happen when Healthcare reform takes center stage? The Happy Hospitalist knows: rationed healthcare.
I love Happy; he often isn’t happy at all. But rather than just fuming and sputtering and screaming at the sky, Happy follows these “wonderful ideas” to their logical but not so wonderful conclusion, and he tells you exactly what he sees. Reading him will scare the pants off of you – but you’ll know what’s coming next.
The easiest way to control healthcare costs is to control access to healthcare. Services that aren’t rendered don’t cost anything. Covert rationing happens every day, it’s just not obvious – a case of tuna costs $5, a great price, and you happen to love tuna. But the $5 price only applies if you buy SEVEN cases, and you don’t like tuna that much, so you buy something else. The tuna has just been rationed, and you didn’t even realize it. Covert rationing.
This isn’t going to be covert rationing – it’s going to be out in the open. And if you have a chronic illness – if you need a doctor for any reason at all – it could get nasty.
