tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393996338560944889.post5413768655870229108..comments2024-03-02T02:26:00.928-05:00Comments on bleakonomy: Wish I could say I found this surprisingtetracontadigonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04604381739383227553noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393996338560944889.post-10325913335616161792009-12-15T10:36:30.741-05:002009-12-15T10:36:30.741-05:00Sorry, I did mistype MedicAID in my second and fin...Sorry, I did mistype MedicAID in my second and final sentences. My bad. Fortunately, nothing in the discussion is affected by this error.<br /><br />Hey, I agree, if MedicAID were better funded, it might be better for poor kids. If it didn't give out free meds to poor parents who can't get appointments for non-drug care, it might be better. But MedicAID is what Congress passed, and the very same people will be designing and funding CongressCare. As I said at the start, I'm convinced, government healthcare for everyone!<br /><br />And you might be amazed at what I would support to help children, especially poor children.Gadfly Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393996338560944889.post-62360997695839874202009-12-15T09:07:58.955-05:002009-12-15T09:07:58.955-05:00You appear to be conflating two different programs...You appear to be conflating two different programs, first of all. Medicare and Medicaid are different, and you are referring to them interchangeably.<br /><br />And just because providers don't <i> accept </i> the government-sponsored insurance for the poor does not mean that the program is to blame. Maybe if Medicaid were to be better funded, therapies like counseling would receive better coverage. Again, you're blaming a cash-strapped insurance program for being unable to pay out at rates commensurate with private coverage, but I can't imagine you actually would support increased funding for Medicaid to provide better mental health services for the poor.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11213051268392108382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393996338560944889.post-46356770840646226462009-12-14T22:01:47.018-05:002009-12-14T22:01:47.018-05:00My claim isn't garbled. The article doesn'...My claim isn't garbled. The article doesn't clear Medicare, in fact, it suggests that physicians who study the issue are finding Medicare is partly to blame.<br /><br />Consider what the article said...<br /><br /><i>Part of the reason is insurance reimbursements, as Medicaid often pays much less for counseling and therapy than private insurers do.</i><br /><br />Hummmm. Sounds like Medicaid isn't doing as much as the private insurers. Is there more evidence?<br /><br /><i>Because there can be long waits to see the psychiatrists accepting Medicaid, it is often a pediatrician or family doctor who prescribes an antipsychotic to a Medicaid patient — whether because the parent wants it or the doctor believes there are few other options. </i><br /><br />Long waits for government care. Now where have I heard that before? In any case, it certainly sounds like a Medicaid problem to me. But wait, can't it simply all be explained due to the fact that it sucks to be poor? Well, it would appear that isn't the whole story.<br /><br /><i>As a result, studies have found that children in low-income families may have a higher rate of mental health problems — perhaps two to one — compared with children in better-off families. But that still does not explain the four-to-one disparity in prescribing antipsychotics.</i><br /><br />What I'm taking away from the NYT is that Medicaid doesn't pay much for non-drug care that takes a long time to get. In the meantime, Medicare hands out drugs for free to poor families. And people are puzzled over the fact that children are far more likely to be prescribed these free drugs than they are to suffer from the suckage of poverty. Hummmm. How could I ever suspect that government medical care -- Medicare -- and its policies have anything whatsoever to do with this problem.Gadfly Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393996338560944889.post-8728704379415382692009-12-14T17:06:08.190-05:002009-12-14T17:06:08.190-05:00"Do you disagree?"
Yes, John. Medicaid..."Do you disagree?"<br /><br />Yes, John. Medicaid isn't the problem. The poverty that puts kids on Medicaid in the first place (with all of the attendant ills) is the problem, in combination with parents who have little access to alternatives and providers who are too heavy-handed with the prescriptions. (And I think you've gotten your talking points garbled. This doesn't have anything to do with Medicare.) <br /><br />Medicaid pays for the medications because the medications are sometimes appropriate. Should there be tighter regulation of which medications are readily approved? Sure. That would likely be part of a multi-faceted solution. But blaming Medicaid for this problem is like blaming corn farmers for obesity.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11213051268392108382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393996338560944889.post-71495888627097244502009-12-14T15:10:39.817-05:002009-12-14T15:10:39.817-05:00Dr. Dan, Medicare is supposed to *help* alleviate ...Dr. Dan, Medicare is supposed to *help* alleviate the ills of poverty, not finance cures that are worse than the disease. The point of the article is that kids on Medicare are, for whatever reason, far more likely to be prescribed powerful drugs that you believe to be problematic. My take is that, regardless of the reason the kids are having behavioral issues, Medicare is part of the problem, not part of the solution. Do you disagree?<br /><br />Why not have Congress and the Administration fix the serious problems with Medicare and Medicaid (budget bloat, Drugs R Us for kids, etc. etc. etc.) before they attempt this all-singing, all-dancing CongressCare program? Seriously.Gadfly Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393996338560944889.post-54014482529441259222009-12-14T11:52:31.884-05:002009-12-14T11:52:31.884-05:00Wow. That is some seriously deep analysis there, ...Wow. That is some seriously deep analysis there, John. Because it's obviously the Medicaid that's leading to the over-prescription of anti-psychotics, and not the poverty that led to the Medicaid enrollment in the first place, with all the associated ills. Correlation is clearly the same thing as causation, and I think we can all agree that the solution to this particular problem is simply to do away with Medicaid.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11213051268392108382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5393996338560944889.post-74161316370657541422009-12-14T10:07:45.418-05:002009-12-14T10:07:45.418-05:00Well, then, I am certainly convinced. Government ...Well, then, I am certainly convinced. Government healthcare for everyone!Gadfly Johnnoreply@blogger.com