(Dr. Sophia Yen of the Stanford University Medical Center weighs in on one of the biggest issues in this year's primary. I am sure this will start a heated comment war but I promoted it because, in the midst of the horse race talk we all love to read about it, health care is one of the principal policy distinctions between Senator Obama and Senator Clinton. - promoted by David Mauro)
As a physician and patient advocate, I know the problems with healthcare. Universal healthcare in which everyone is covered and we get rid of the middle-man (the insurance companies) is the solution. But the 2nd best solution is at least "everyone is in the system." The 3rd best solution is "everyone has the option to be in the system." The least optimal is what we have now. Barack chose the 3rd best solution. Edwards and Hillary chose the 2nd best.
The key question is whether to let people opt out. Scholars in the field and physicians who study the problem know that in order to do good, you cannot let people opt out. Otherwise, it increases the cost to the taxpayer via people going to the ER and we having to bail them out of bankruptcy when that happens, and those with insurance sucking up the cost of their ER visits.
