When You Think “Public Policy,” Think “Mark Fuhrman”
I know Mark Fuhrman is the first person that comes to my mind when I think “health care reform.”
Fuhrman calls the V.A. and Medicare “government failures,” yet the majority of people who receive care in these government run programs are satisfied with their it. Medicare may not be in good shape financially, but that is on those that run Medicare, not on Medicare itself. In terms of senior citizens getting health care, Medicare works well.
Mark Fuhrman’s brilliance really shined when he just simply made up a fact:
Please, tell me a V.A. hospital that’s better than any private hospital in the country…Oh, there isn’t one.
Really Mr. Fuhrman?
According to a Time article written in 2006 entitled, “How Veterans’ Hospitals Became The Best In Health Care”:
VA hospitals, for the sixth year in a row, last year scored higher than private facilities on the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index. The VA scored 83 out of 100; private institutions, 71.
That same article states that the VA’s cost per patient has remained steady during the past 10 years (1996-2006). The cost of private care has jumped about 40% in that same period.
According to a Businessweek article:
If you want to be sure of top-notch care, join the military. The 154 hospitals and 875 clinics run by the Veterans Affairs Dept. have been ranked best-in-class by a number of independent groups on a broad range of measures, from chronic care to heart disease treatment to percentage of members who receive flu shots.
These ridiculous statements are constantly being made by people who have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. Forget the fact that Mark Fuhrman was completely wrong, the damage has been done. The lies have been spread.
What are the odds that a Sean Hannity viewer is going to actually take the time to find out for themselves that Fuhrman, at least when it comes to the facts on VA hospitals, is a total fraud? I’d say Zero.
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Isn’t that the guy that beat up Rodney King?
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September 3rd, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Medicare is not in good shape financially? Sure, it’s not nearly as well funded as Social Security [ we could fix that by raising taxes and making health reform Medicare-for-All], but it’s in pretty good shape compared to years past.
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