“No wonder the White House wanted to dodge a public debate and Senate vote on Dr. Berwick,” wrote Senior Editorial Page Writer Joe Rago. “He’s a too obvious reminder of the price controls and care restrictions that are inevitable with ObamaCare.”
Dr. Berwick’s major challenge will be reducing Medicare growth from about 4 percent a year to 2 percent in order to fund new entitlements under the reform law.
Here is a sampling of Dr. Berwick’s revealing pronouncements on a variety of healthcare topics.
Rationing care. “The decision is not whether or not we will ration care — the decision is whether we will ration with our eyes open.”
The British healthcare system. “I am romantic about the National Health Service. … I love it.” This government-run system — known for waiting lines, rationing and staid bureaucracy — is “such a seductress” and “a global treasure.”
Healthcare regulation. “The primary functions” of health regulation are “to constrain decentralized, individual decision making” and “to weigh public welfare against the choices of private consumers.”
Clinical protocols. Clinical protocols for care are based on the “common underlying notion that someone knows or can discover the ‘best way’ to carry out a task to reach a decision, and that improvement can come from standardizing processes and behaviors to conform to this ideal model.”
Read the Wall Street Journal opinion piece on healthcare reform.
Read more Becker’s coverage on Donald Berwick, MD.
Berwick to Become CMS Administrator Without Senate Confirmation
Leading Hospital Organizations Back CMS Nominee, as Senate Hearings Near
