Home is where the heart is .........

John Robson .......

" ... In Britain, the National Health Service is planning to make people do their own health care to save money.

OK, not appendectomies. But, the Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday: "Millions of people with arthritis, asthma and even heart failure will be urged to treat themselves as part of a government plan to save billions of pounds from the NHS budget ..."

The report says patients will find themselves: "Monitoring their own heart activity, blood pressure and lung capacity using equipment installed in the home; reporting medical information to doctors remotely by telephone or computer; administering their own drugs and other treatment to 'manage pain' and assessing the significance of changes in their condition; using relaxation techniques to relieve stress and avoid 'panic' visits to emergency wards."

New prime minister Gordon Brown naturally spun it as giving "all of those with long-term or chronic conditions the choice of greater support, information and advice, allowing them to play a far more active role in managing their own condition." But a document obtained by the Daily Telegraph indicates that while the public rhetoric is about empowerment, the private incentive is to save money.

It would be. It's curious that people attack private markets because providers think about money, but never admit that it's bad when governments don't and often worse when they do. A company that cuts costs so much it can't provide decent service goes out of business. Governments face no such incentives, and it matters.

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Bah! Humbug.