During the health care debate, President Obama promised everyone could keep their current doctor or plan if they wished. He also dismissed allegations that his plan would usher in health care rationing. Nonetheless, Obama’s nominee to head the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Studies (CMS) is on the record advocating rationing and has been knighted in Britain for his support of the UK’s government-run system. So what kind of power will Donald Berwick have? Could he actually order rationing or denial of care? What other developments in recent days suggest more flaws in the new health care laws? Why has an innovative firm in Virginia been forced out of business? And what is the significance of President Obama touting $250 rebates to some Medicare patients? We ask Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute.
