Medical Cuts Start In America

Austerity in medicine begins in earnest -

In a move likely to alter treatment standards in hospitals and doctors’ offices nationwide, a group of nine medical specialty boards plans to recommend on Wednesday that doctors perform 45 common tests and procedures less often, and to urge patients to question these services if they are offered. Eight other specialty boards are preparing to follow suit with additional lists of procedures their members should perform far less often.

The recommendations represent an unusually frank acknowledgment by physicians that many profitable tests and procedures are performed unnecessarily and may harm patients. By some estimates, unnecessary treatment constitutes one-third of medical spending in the United States.

The Real Effect
But...but...but...I thought science only helped people. It is exactly this kind of junk thinking that gives the scientific method a black eye in some individuals minds. Individuals who work with any form of data know exactly what I'm talking about. Garbage in, garbage out.

Believe it or not, there are myriads of issues on display here. Let's look at a few.

1. If you believe a "group of nine medical specialty boards" is not political, you're dense.
2. The scientific method is not synonymous with the scientists practicing it.
1. This bait and switch is often used by dense medical practitioners who couldn't argue their way out of a paper bag.
3. Scientists are not an "authority", they practice a discipline. And are often wrong.
1. Have doubts, review the bold sentence above.
4. The discipline of "science" does not override the capacity for evil by a man.
5. There are whole "profit models" fashioned on man's evil.
1. Still in doubt? Please reread the bold sentence. Again.
6. According to the laws of supply and demand, this change in procedure is necessary to reduce the overall cost of health care.
1. As an aside, how does "mandatory insurance" make this better?
7. I'm certain that this system will be just as idiotic as the system before it. 
1. People tend to think in trends, not specifics. Whereas before the thinking was "better safe then sorry, cost be damned" the new thinking is "Cost is too high! We must cut cost everywhere!"
2. This is one of the predominate reasons why government run anything doesn't work nearly as efficiently as the private sector. There is no possible way to account for and prioritize properly all the necessary decisions to quickly determine the best course of action.
8. This is the start of the big wave of fiscal medical "austerity" which will be used to justify murder later.
9. Just like the scientific frauds before it, (Global cooling, warming, change, HFCS, overpopulation...) this is significantly deeper then they are letting on.

Overall, you have a group of scientists admitting that they order tests that are not only financially unnecessary, but can be detrimental to the health of the patient. (What was that about an oath to a hippo and all that?) Additionally, the only way you hear about this is if they decide you need to hear about it. Tell me again how that's capitalist?

The reality of the situation is that we do not have a capitalist/free market system and haven't for quite some time. The astronomical cost alone should tell you that. (Notice how outside of inflation, the cost of goods generally goes down in time???) If we want a better market, we need to allow these changes to take place but not check our brain at the door.