Medicine
The Politifact Lie of the Year in 2010 was awarded to the term "Government Takeover." Government Takeover or Government Control in various forms emerged from Republicans, health insurance association consultants, and certain media outlets. A brief attempt at naming the new health design as "public option" lost out. The spin doctors succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. The first Democratic agenda moved on the defensive and in many ways never recovered.
The best interventions are the simple ones. The Government Control card played well from start to end. It will be interesting to see if Republicans are going to be perceived as in control and if Democrats can return the favor. This is, of course, a reason why America is difficult to govern.
The Government Control card has indeed been played by both sides dating back many political campaigns. The latest and most successful example paved the way for a simplistic and powerful campaign 2010 to 2014 with the results as we have seen. Successful political candidates profited by "We really do not want to disclose what we are for, but we are against government control, Democrats, government programs/spending, Obama, and Obamacare." Linking any and all together worked well. No one really listened to much of anything else apparently.
In the last few years, health care moved from backstage to center stage. This made the simple strategy even more effective.
Democrats had more than enough time to catch on. There were also any number of attack points that could have moved the debate in a different direction. But Democrats were divided from each other, from Democratic leaders, and from Democratic concepts.
The Democrats needed a major push to "take down" or appear to take down Wall Street, Banking, and other "perceived abusers". Going on the attack is preferable and is easier than defense, as Democrats found out. More and more defensive is a prelude to failure.
The Democrats were not willing to take on health insurance companies, Wall Street, or Banking. No one was adept enough to appear to take on these or others who have damaged America and Americans. No Democrat could explain why Americans were being deprived a better piece of the pie, but the Republicans had many explanations. If you do not tell people how their lives will be improved, they will vote for someone else (or allow others to take control).
Multiple Democratic failures in health policies and in health appointments made matters worse. Americans began to feel more experimented upon with rapid change, more chaos, and less stability.
Many of the Democratic attempts had good intentions. Good intentions may or may not work out. Unfortunately they can also take quite some time. Many of the concepts that result in a more equitable nation are difficult to communicate well, and Democrats have failed most of all in communication.
Belief in Government Control plus belief in the inevitability of Wealthy Control plus voter suppression was a powerful combination.
Health care where needed faces similar challenges. Long slow steady improvements in economics, health, and education are difficult to sustain - but offer the best hope for a narrowing of divisions and overall progress as a nation.
Politifact Lie of the Year 2010 - Government Takeover
Basic Health Access Web Basic Health Access Blog World of Rural Medical Education
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Medicine
The Government Control Card Still Plays Well
The Politifact Lie of the Year in 2010 was awarded to the term "Government Takeover." Government Takeover or Government Control in various forms emerged from Republicans, health insurance association consultants, and certain media outlets. A brief attempt at naming the new health design as "public option" lost out. The spin doctors succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. The first Democratic agenda moved on the defensive and in many ways never recovered.
The best interventions are the simple ones. The Government Control card played well from start to end. It will be interesting to see if Republicans are going to be perceived as in control and if Democrats can return the favor. This is, of course, a reason why America is difficult to govern.
The Government Control card has indeed been played by both sides dating back many political campaigns. The latest and most successful example paved the way for a simplistic and powerful campaign 2010 to 2014 with the results as we have seen. Successful political candidates profited by "We really do not want to disclose what we are for, but we are against government control, Democrats, government programs/spending, Obama, and Obamacare." Linking any and all together worked well. No one really listened to much of anything else apparently.
In the last few years, health care moved from backstage to center stage. This made the simple strategy even more effective.
Democrats had more than enough time to catch on. There were also any number of attack points that could have moved the debate in a different direction. But Democrats were divided from each other, from Democratic leaders, and from Democratic concepts.
The Democrats needed a major push to "take down" or appear to take down Wall Street, Banking, and other "perceived abusers". Going on the attack is preferable and is easier than defense, as Democrats found out. More and more defensive is a prelude to failure.
The Democrats were not willing to take on health insurance companies, Wall Street, or Banking. No one was adept enough to appear to take on these or others who have damaged America and Americans. No Democrat could explain why Americans were being deprived a better piece of the pie, but the Republicans had many explanations. If you do not tell people how their lives will be improved, they will vote for someone else (or allow others to take control).
Multiple Democratic failures in health policies and in health appointments made matters worse. Americans began to feel more experimented upon with rapid change, more chaos, and less stability.
Many of the Democratic attempts had good intentions. Good intentions may or may not work out. Unfortunately they can also take quite some time. Many of the concepts that result in a more equitable nation are difficult to communicate well, and Democrats have failed most of all in communication.
Belief in Government Control plus belief in the inevitability of Wealthy Control plus voter suppression was a powerful combination.
Health care where needed faces similar challenges. Long slow steady improvements in economics, health, and education are difficult to sustain - but offer the best hope for a narrowing of divisions and overall progress as a nation.
Politifact Lie of the Year 2010 - Government Takeover
Rotten Apples, Rotten Support, or Rotten Media?
Improving Health Care is Not Likely for 2600 CountiesOpen Season Upon Small Health Care
Continue on to Open Season on Small Health By Big Media
Summary of Small Health Complexities
How To Resolve Health Access for 40 States Behind By Design
Preventing Rural Workforce By Design
Starting to Solve Societal Inequities - Support for a SMART Start from the Very Beginning of Life
Perverse Health Payment Dividing US - More for Fewer and Less for More, and Penalties for Those Caring for Those Most in Need
Global Fails Local But Local Focus Succeeds Globally
Domino Decline By Design - as ERs Close, Those Nearby Face Challenges, as Small or Rural Hospitals Close or Practices Where Needed...
Declines in Health Care Delivery Despite Increases in Health Spending - If We Keep Accelerating Non-Delivery Costs, We Can Continue to Remain Behind Health Care Demand
Best of Basic Health Access
Blogs indicate that primary care can be recovered and should be recovered.
Robert C. Bowman, M.D. [email protected]
Basic Health Access Web Basic Health Access Blog World of Rural Medical Education
Dr. Bowman is the North American Co-Editor of Rural and Remote Health. He was the founding chair of the Rural Medical Educators Group of the National Rural Health Association and the long term chair of the STFM Group on Rural Health.
- Still Failure After All These Years
The following is a 2004 prediction specific to the year 2014 made by US Health Experts as captured by US News and World Report: In 10 years, the increasing use of online medical resources will yield substantial improvement in many of the pervasive problems...
- Acting Upon Discrimination In Health Spending
Spending Designs Discriminate Designs for spending send less to counties in most need of care that have populations with multiple dimensions of "left behind." This can be tracked by measuring distributions of Medicare dollars or by measuring workforce...
- Rotten Apples, Rotten Support, Or Rotten Media?
America's teachers reached the cover of Time Magazine recently, but not in a favorable light. The response of teachers is recorded:America’s teachers are not rotten apples, as Time’s cover suggests, that need to be smashed by Silicon Valley millionaires...
- What Health Insurance Corporations Do
When given a chance to operate the entire payment package, what do Health Insurance Companies (HICs) do? For the past 8 years HICs have been given the freedom to operate Medicare Advantage - the high prestige seniors plan from CMS. HICs helped design...
- Will Small Health Make The News Long Enough To Matter?
It is about time that Small Health Care received some attention as the small hospitals and small practices, but will this continue. Off and on over past decades, primary care has received much attention, but the attention has not resulted in changes in...