Healthcare's wrong turn

[SHRED]

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Here is the conversation:

February 17, 1971
5:26 pm - 5:53 pm
Oval Office
Conversation 450-23

John D. Ehrlichman: On the—on the health business—

President Nixon: Yeah.

Ehrlichman: —we have now narrowed down the vice president's problems on this thing to one issue and that is whether we should include these health maintenance organizations like Edgar Kaiser's Permanente thing. The vice president just cannot see it. We tried 15 ways from Friday to explain it to him and then help him to understand it. He finally says, “Well, I don't think they'll work, but if the president thinks it's a good idea, I'll support him a hundred percent.”

President Nixon: Well, what's—what's the judgment?

Ehrlichman: Well, everybody else's judgment very strongly is that we go with it.

President Nixon: All right.

Ehrlichman: And, uh, uh, he's the one holdout that we have in the whole office.

President Nixon: Say that I—I—I'd tell him I have doubts about it, but I think that it's, uh, now let me ask you, now you give me your judgment. You know I'm not to keen on any of these damn medical programs.

Ehrlichman: This, uh, let me, let me tell you how I am—

President Nixon:

Ehrlichman: This—this is a—

President Nixon: I don't —

Ehrlichman: —private enterprise one.

President Nixon: Well, that appeals to me.

Ehrlichman: Edgar Kaiser is running his Permanente deal for profit. And the reason that he can—the reason he can do it—I had Edgar Kaiser come in—talk to me about this and I went into it in some depth. All the incentives are toward less medical care, because—

President Nixon:

Ehrlichman: —the less care they give them, the more money they make.

President Nixon: Fine.

Ehrlichman: and the incentives run the right way.
President Nixon: Not bad.

http://businesspractices.kaiserpapers.info/nixononkaiser.html

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[phillysuse]

1. Wow, Spiro Agnew was on the right side on this one -

Who would have thunk it?

[havocmom]

2. Ah, good catch. Backs up theory the scare tactic of "it would lead to rationed medicine"

used to fight HRC's health care reform moves in the 90s (remember those adds Big Insurance ran?) were nothing but a strategy to keep the power to do the rationing in the hands of Big Insurance.

Ehrlichman: —the less care they give them, the more money they make.

President Nixon: Fine.

Ehrlichman: and the incentives run the right way.
President Nixon: Not bad.

Now, we see how much power Big Insurance wields. HRC's new suggestion that we all be forced to buy insurance in order to work is tithing to Big Business instead of real health care. If the insurers are STILL the ones to decide who gets what care, they will take our money and buy more pols who will do great things for their bottom lines while America keeps getting sicker.

[Canuckistanian]

5. Ah that explains something

When Nixon said "You know, I'm not to keen on any of these damn medical programs" I wondered what he meant.

So they were afraid (unjustly) of that dreaded "socialized medicine" even back then.

[havocmom]

8. LOL The timing of Nixon's remark wasn't really too long after 'fluoride is commie plot' era

Hell, when I was in first and second grade, the locals were in a tizzy about phonics being taught. It was all commie brainwashing, doncha know.

Strange days are not a new innovation ;)

[BlueIris]

3. K&R.

[SHRED]

4. kick

[HCE SuiGeneris]

6. Kick

[Canuckistanian]

7. Amazing that such a huge disaster can be traced back to one conversation

And the next day, Feb. 18th, Nixon went on TV to announce his proposal for a National Health Strategy, including the proposal of the The Health Maintenance Organization Assistance Act (passed 1973).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Maintenance_Organization_Act_of_1973

Interestingly enough, these new "HMOs" were originally supposed to be non-profit.