As demonstrated by the recent cancellation of a project designed to determine how difficult it is for the average patient to get an appointment with a doctor, everyone seems to have their say, in health care program decisions, except for the patients who need the services. Apparently some doctors screamed bloody murder, when they found out that their practices were being "investigated", and so their elected officials joined in the chorus, to get this study promptly nipped in the bud, before it could officially reveal just how bad the situation really is.
And once again, the opinion of the users of medical services apparently had no say in the matter, so their "needs", and the services available to them, will continue to be determined mostly by politics. (Despite the fact that this action was claimed to have nothing to do with politics).
Administration officials evidently concluded that the survey could be a political liability. But Christian J. Stenrud, a Health and Human Services spokesman, said, “Politics did not play a role in the decision” Tuesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/29/healt ... .html?_r=1
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