Ben Carson Calls VA Scandal A Gift From God To Expose Obamacare's Fatal Flaws

[lonewolf]

If the government can't run the VA...would you trust them with your healthcare?

Ben Carson calls VA scandal a ‘gift from God’ to expose Obamacare’s fatal flaws

May 25, 2014 by Joe Saunders 11 Comments

Continuing the book tour that’s putting him in front of new audiences for the first time – and raising him as a target for liberals in the media — Dr. Ben Carson took to the friendly confines of Fox News on Saturday to warn that the scandal rocking the VA health system is just a preview of what Obamacare will bring to the nation as a whole.

“I think what’s happening with the veterans is a gift from God to show us what happens when you take layers and layers of bureaucracy and place them between the patients and the health care provider,” Carson said.

“And if we can’t get it right, with the relatively small number of veterans, how in the world with are you going to do it with the entire population?”

Naturally, the lefties are missing the point deliberately, with websites like the Huffington Post and George Soros-backed Media Matters pretending to pounce on Carson’s “gift from God” description, like a man who’s spent his life saving lives somehow relishes individual deaths to score political points.

That isn’t what he was saying and they know it.


But misguided politics are what’s driving the VA scandal – and the whole progressive project of Obamacare. And the kind of thinking that’s needed to clean up the VA scandal is same kind needed to get to the root of the country’s fiscal problems, Carson said.

“We need seriousness here, rather than just political speak, ‘how can I look better, how can my party look better?’” he said.

“Stop, and think about the people. You guys [politicians] are servants, you’re not rulers, so first of all, get that out of your mind. And think about what can we do with the problems that we have to solve in this nation, which are substantial, some of which threaten to actually destroy our nation, our fiscal irresponsibility.”

Politicians in the Age of Obama worrying about fiscal responsibility instead of setting themselves up as rulers of a democratic people?

That would be a real gift from God.

Check out the interview here:

http://www.bizpacreview.com/2014/05/25/ben-carson-calls-va-scandal-a-gift-from-god-to-expose-obamacares-fatal-flaws-121149

[RichD]

Carson is becoming quite the political hack.

[kia027]

Physician Heal Thyself!

[lonewolf]

RichD
Carson is becoming quite the political hack.

Rich,

I disagree with your assertion that Carson is a political hack. The definition of a political hack is "a politician who belongs to a small clique that controls a political party for private rather than public ends" Obama would be a political hack, he is a politician. The definition fits perfectly for Obama, but not Carson.


Carson is a doctor and an expert in healthcare.
Ben Carson devoted his life to health care and saving peoples lives. He spent 36 years at Johns Hopkins, arguably the finest hospital in the world. So, that said, which person would you want making decisions about your healthcare, Obama or Carson?

[j-kid]

So how is this new or Obama's doing? The problem has existed under every President. The veterans hav bin abused an disrespected fi many decades an has bin one of America's shame for jus ah long.

Where has Carson bin all dese years it bin goin on?

[lonewolf]

So how is this new or Obama's doing? The problem has existed under every President. The veterans hav bin abused an disrespected fi many decades an has bin one of America's shame for jus ah long.

Where has Carson bin all dese years it bin goin on?

You are correct. It has existed for years. Carson is not blaming Obama directly for the VA debacle. He is blaming government directly, and is using the VA scandal as an example of why Obama care is a bad idea. Government bureaucracy is the problem.

[blugiant]

Rich,

I disagree with your assertion that Carson is a political hack. The definition of a political hack is "a politician who belongs to a small clique that controls a political party for private rather than public ends" Obama would be a political hack, he is a politician. The definition fits perfectly for Obama, but not Carson.


Carson is a doctor and an expert in healthcare.
Ben Carson devoted his life to health care and saving peoples lives. He spent 36 years at Johns Hopkins, arguably the finest hospital in the world. So, that said, which person would you want making decisions about your healthcare, Obama or Carson?

neither

mixxed race man pushed rumney care as da solution even dough itt enriched da healthcare industrees ann carson pushinn imm plan da enrich doctors. two badd plans dat doan putt da patients furst ann more cancerned bout profit awf aff sickness

universal healthcare iss wat needed.

medicaid fe awl

[blugiant]

So how is this new or Obama's doing? The problem has existed under every President. The veterans hav bin abused an disrespected fi many decades an has bin one of America's shame for jus ah long.

Where has Carson bin all dese years it bin goin on?

iff yuh chatt to veterans, it got a latt better under mixxed race man butt more need fe be dunn

[RichD]

Rich,

I disagree with your assertion that Carson is a political hack. The definition of a political hack is "a politician who belongs to a small clique that controls a political party for private rather than public ends" Obama would be a political hack, he is a politician. The definition fits perfectly for Obama, but not Carson.

that is one definition ..the one im working with is " a person who is part of the political party apparatus, but whose intentions are more aligned with victory than personal conviction."

Carson is a doctor and an expert in healthcare.
Ben Carson devoted his life to health care and saving peoples lives. He spent 36 years at Johns Hopkins, arguably the finest hospital in the world. So, that said, which person would you want making decisions about your healthcare, Obama or Carson?

that is a specious argument . Carson is a expert physician but i'm not sure how much experience he has in designing and administering a health insurance program on a national scale.

do you think maybe the President might have been able to hire Healthcare professionals every bit as qualified as Dr Carson to help design this plan?

[blugiant]

that is one definition ..the one im working with is " a person who is part of the political party apparatus, but whose intentions are more aligned with victory than personal conviction."



that is a specious argument . Carson is a expert physician but i'm not sure how much experience he has in designing and administering a health insurance program on a national scale.

define fe yuhself raddar dan acceptinn sumwan definition. yuh usinn mii line aff argument now

carson plan iss oww fe enrich doctors ann dat slightlee diffarant dan enrichinn healthcare industrees. itt bout oww fe split upp da spoils awf proffittinn awf aff sick people. too much peeps care more bout money dan de health aff peeps

[jah_yout]

the VA system was broken before obama became prez...i know- i worked there...
i think spending on the VA actually went down under obama & i believe federal workers still have a raise-freeze---years running now;

i don't believe obamacare correlates to the reason the VA has this scandal going on...
it is more an issue of mismanagement, bureaucracy, corruption, and the like...

this attitude permeates the entire federal government...not just the VA...
and people are dropping like flies while they fiddle

[lonewolf]

neither

mixxed race man pushed rumney care as da solution even dough itt enriched da healthcare industrees ann carson pushinn imm plan da enrich doctors. two badd plans dat doan putt da patients furst ann more cancerned bout profit awf aff sickness
universal healthcare iss wat needed.

medicaid fe awl

I think you are right about Obama, but I think you are wrong about Carson. Until he proves otherwise I'm taking him for face value...remember he is not a politician..Yet!

I don't understand why everone complains about the political machine(Dems and Repubs) and the need for fresh blood and a new perspective. My opinion, Ben Carson is it.


America the Beautiful, by Dr. Ben Carson, M.D. : on Health Care



Ben Carson: Two-tiered system ok as long as care is adequate
Our 1st child, Murray, was born in Australia. The health-care system in Australia provides substantial benefits for its citizens, and when a baby is born, the family receives a "baby bonus." Although it was a two-tiered system, I did not witness much resentment by those receiving their basic care free of charge against those who could afford private insurance. There may be some substantial lessons that we can learn from such a system.
Everyone has different needs and we do not have to have a one-size-fits-all system. Because one person drives a Chevrolet and another drives a Mercedes, it doesn't automatically mean that the Chevrolet driver is deprived or needs some supplement. The fact is, he can get to the same place as a Mercedes driver with perhaps slightly less comfort. People have different medical needs and some can afford the Chevrolet plan while others can afford the Mercedes plan. We should leave it at that and not try to micromanage people's lives as long as the care is adequate

Source: America the Beautiful, by Ben Carson, p.143-144 Jan 24, 2012

Ben Carson: Saudi Arabian solution: stiff penalties for medical fraud
Insurance companies would almost certainly object that some unscrupulous doctors would simply submit "evidence" that they had done two appendectomies instead of one.
There are very few physicians who would engage in fraud, but there certainly are some. However, the solution for dealing with those few is not to create a gigantic and expensive bureaucracy, but rather to apply what I term the "Saudi Arabian solution." Why don't people steal very often in Saudi Arabia? Because the punishment is amputation of one or more fingers. I would not advocate chopping off people's limbs, but there would be some very stiff penalties for this kind of fraud, such as loss of one's medical license for life, no less than 10 years in prison, and a loss of all of one's personal possessions. Not only would this be a gigantic deterrent to fraud, but to protect themselves every physician in practice would check every single bill quite thoroughly before submitting it, which would not be that difficult to do and document.
Source: America the Beautiful, by Ben Carson, p.145-146 Jan 24, 2012

Ben Carson: Regulate insurance companies as non-profit services
Today, insurance companies call the shots on what they want to pay, to whom, and when. Consequently, even busy doctors operate with a very slim profit of margin.
This is an ideal place for the intervention of government regulators who, with the help of medical professionals, could establish fair and consistent remuneration. To accomplish this, essentially all of the insurance companies would have to become non-profit service organizations with standardized, regulated profit margins.This is not the paradigm that I see for all businesses, [but] is uniquely appropriate for the health-insurance industry, which deals with people's lives and quality of existence. That may sound radical, but is it as radical as allowing a company to increase its profits by denying care to sick individuals? In the long run this would also be good for the insurance companies, who could then concentrate on providing good service, rather than focusing on undercutting their competitors and increasing their profit margin.

Source: America the Beautiful, by Ben Carson, p.147-148 Jan 24, 2012

Ben Carson: Government responsibility for catastrophic coverage
There was a time when premature babies or babies with significant birth defects simply died, which cost the insurance company very little. Now, however, thanks to developments in medical technology, we're able to put such babies in incubators and treat them, usually saving their lives--but then we hand the insurance company a bill for $1 million. This kind of scenario, repeated on a regular basis, drove insurance companies to drastically increase their premiums.
One solution would be to remove from the insurance companies the responsibility for catastrophic health-care coverage, making it a government responsibility [like FEMA insures against hurricanes]. Clearly, if the health-care insurance companies did not have to cover catastrophic health care, it would be relatively easy by analyzing actuarial tables to determine how much money they are likely to be liable for each year. With this information at our disposal, health insurance companies could be regulated just as utilities are regulated.

Source: America the Beautiful, by Ben Carson, p.149-150 Jan 24, 2012

Ben Carson: Let paralyzed quadriplegics choose to die if they wish it
We are facing a time when we have to be pragmatic, while at the same time exercising compassion.
I remember a case of a prominent individual who had been in an automobile accident and was rendered a C-1 quadriplegic, which means not only was he paralyzed from the neck down, but he could not breathe without assistance. We could have made the decision to keep him alive at all costs, but through a unique system of communication that we were able to work out with him, he indicated that he wanted to die. After much debate, we yielded to his wishes and withdrew ventilator support. In the long run, I think our course of action was both compassionate and pragmatic. If we integrate compassion and logic into our decision-making processes, I am convinced that we will deal with newly emerging ethical dilemmas appropriately.

Source: America the Beautiful, by Ben Carson, p.151 Jan 24, 2012

Howard Dean: Trial Lawyer Association donors have blocked tort reform
It is extremely difficult to estimate how much money is wasted in the health-care arena because doctors engage in defensive medicine to avoid lawsuits. I was at a public forum before the health-care law was voted on and one of the speakers was Dr. Howard Dean. I do not agree with many of his political views, but he is an honest individual as far as politicians go. Someone asked him the question, "Why is tort reform not included in the health-care bill?"
"It's really quite simple," he replied. "The Trial Lawyers Association gives us [the Democratic Party] a great deal of money, and they don't want it in there."

Source: America the Beautiful, by Ben Carson, p.153 Jan 24, 2012

[lonewolf]

that is one definition ..the one im working with is " a person who is part of the political party apparatus, but whose intentions are more aligned with victory than personal conviction."

Healthcare has been this man's life. His personal conviction was operating on children that were cast aside by the rest of medicine as inoperable and left to die.

that is a specious argument . Carson is a expert physician but i'm not sure how much experience he has in designing and administering a health insurance program on a national scale.

Most people that run a business understand where and how they get paid. Running a medical practice in the US involves physicians understanding every aspect of billing. If they don't, they don't make it

do you think maybe the President might have been able to hire Healthcare professionals every bit as qualified as Dr Carson to help design this plan?

No, I think he hired people that do what they are told. That's what politicians do. They surround themselves with people that serve them and tell them what they want to hear according to their agenda.

[RichD]

Ben Carson: Regulate insurance companies as non-profit services
Today, insurance companies call the shots on what they want to pay, to whom, and when. Consequently, even busy doctors operate with a very slim profit of margin.
This is an ideal place for the intervention of government regulators who, with the help of medical professionals, could establish fair and consistent remuneration. To accomplish this, essentially all of the insurance companies would have to become non-profit service organizations with standardized, regulated profit margins.This is not the paradigm that I see for all businesses, [but] is uniquely appropriate for the health-insurance industry, which deals with people's lives and quality of existence. That may sound radical, but is it as radical as allowing a company to increase its profits by denying care to sick individuals? In the long run this would also be good for the insurance companies, who could then concentrate on providing good service, rather than focusing on undercutting their competitors and increasing their profit margin.

Source: America the Beautiful, by Ben Carson, p.147-148 Jan 24, 2012

Ben Carson: Government responsibility for catastrophic coverage
There was a time when premature babies or babies with significant birth defects simply died, which cost the insurance company very little. Now, however, thanks to developments in medical technology, we're able to put such babies in incubators and treat them, usually saving their lives--but then we hand the insurance company a bill for $1 million. This kind of scenario, repeated on a regular basis, drove insurance companies to drastically increase their premiums.
One solution would be to remove from the insurance companies the responsibility for catastrophic health-care coverage, making it a government responsibility [like FEMA insures against hurricanes]. Clearly, if the health-care insurance companies did not have to cover catastrophic health care, it would be relatively easy by analyzing actuarial tables to determine how much money they are likely to be liable for each year. With this information at our disposal, health insurance companies could be regulated just as utilities are regulated.

Source: America the Beautiful, by Ben Carson, p.149-150 Jan 24, 2012

and in Dr Carsons world there would be no bureaucracy created ?

[RichD]

Healthcare has been this man's life. His personal conviction was operating on children that were cast aside by the rest of medicine as inoperable and left to die.

well he has put that aside now and is pursuing another goal