Now, the fun part begins: governing.
And, a massive budget shortfall on the horizon obviously won't be the only challenge facing Olympia - or other state capitols - in coming years.
Accordingly, I participated in a project this summer compiling recommendations from a broad spectrum of interested individuals and groups on the topic of healthcare for the next Governor (whomever that might be). The result is Dear Governor: About that Healthcare Crisis. I'm a contributor and my friend DJ Wilson is the editor.
Any follower of public policy with a serious interest in healthcare should read this book; its diversity of contributing authors makes it a truly unique offering.
Meanwhile, an atypical coalition of business and labor is pushing for healthcare reform at the national level. And of course, state efforts on the same issue are ongoing in an assortment of ways, including Bobby Jindal's latest.
At some point, Washington state is going to have to act on the same issue. Anyone with a serious interest in heatlhcare policy should buy the book.
Posted by Eric Earling at November 18, 2008 07:19 AM | Email ThisTwo hours after the unusual election you were whining that the guy hadn't conceded with tens of thousands of ballots to be counted. You didn't want the guy to be able to check out where the ballots were counted, what district and precincts were outstanding, etc. And this after the '04 election where he got a substantial increase in the number of late arrivers.
When his analysis was done and he knew he lost, the guy conceded.
I don't think you have a dog in this hunt, Duffman.
Posted by: swatter on November 18, 2008 09:38 AMMake a stand. Left, right or what ever. But being wishy-washie gets you no support!
Posted by: Army Medic/Vet on November 18, 2008 10:33 AMYour last comment was/is my frustration, too. Except mine has been burning for a couple of decades when I became cognizant of politics.
Posted by: swatter on November 18, 2008 11:05 AMYou had a great chapter, and I appreciate the contribution to the work. I think folks will enjoy reading it.
Posted by: DJ Wilson on November 18, 2008 11:21 AMhealthcare reform before the politics of the issue get in the way.
___________________________________________
I'm someone who has worked in healthcare for 20+ years. Politics is all over it and just makes the systems even worse.
Get the gov out !
Posted by: Army Medic/Vet on November 18, 2008 11:29 AMWhat we need is for people to come back into the stock market. Not the gov doing it (as you can see it hasn't worked)
Many don't trust what the gov is going to do. It doesn't help when all we hear is SPEND or give aways.
Bush didn't help by spending on more gov programs and if Obama follows his path to even more spending. This pain is going to last for many years.
Posted by: Army Medic/Vet on November 18, 2008 11:45 AMEverything from Govenment regulation to trial lawyers has hosed our health care system. When you have Government paper pushers controlling doctors you have a problem. Docs can't even give proper pain killers to terminal patients because the might get addicted. That gets a big Huh? from me.
Posted by: Vince on November 18, 2008 11:47 AMHalf of primary-care doctors in survey would leave medicine
Of the 12,000 respondents, 49 percent said they'd consider leaving medicine. Many said they are overwhelmed with their practices, not because they have too many patients, but because there's too much red tape generated from insurance companies and government agencies......."People who have insurance can't find a doctor, so suddenly we are going to give insurance to a whole bunch of people who haven't had it, without increasing the number of physicians?" he says. "It's going to be a problem."
And really good luck with those specialists... already most insurance requireds a referral from...oh wait for ir... A PRIMARY CAR PHYSICIAN.
Be careful what you wish for...
Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold on November 18, 2008 12:19 PMLOL, duffie you kill me. indepedent is just another word for dem.
(come on man, stand up for something)
Posted by: Army Medic/Vet on November 18, 2008 12:33 PMThey are already forcing rezones on Thurston County.
Dear Land Owner,
You are screwed.
And btw, let's not forget, Dino has previous experience cutting a billion or two out of a budget and making it work. Gregoire doesn't seem to have a clue how to do this. But I'll tell you....she better not raise our taxes just because she went on a spending binge for the last four years.
Posted by: Michele on November 18, 2008 05:57 PMJust a thought.
Posted by: Snuffy on November 19, 2008 04:42 AMOne real difference is that they "own" their patients for life so they invest in preventive care. They also have one of the first EMR's (electronic medical records) in the country and despite the problems at DOD (which is NOT the VA) the are able to provide the highest quality of care in the country with very limited resources.
The state cannot afford not to address this issue since they are one of the largest purchasers of health care in the state. I get the impression that thoughtful discourse is discouraged here though?
Posted by: Wallingford on November 19, 2008 08:44 PM