Senator Bill Frist: physician turned politician

Like Dr. Frist, I am also a surgeon. I have not been able to identify any extra value that private insurers provide over Medicaid or Medicare to justify their profits and extra administrative costs. The only way to cover everyone and to save money is a single-payer system. We already pay twice as much per capita for heathcare as England and have poorer outcomes.

Is health care a right, or a consumer product/service? Why does it have to be market driven?

The population of Singapore is 4 million. California is 10 times that size. They spend 3% of GDP on healthcare. They have 23 hospitals in the whole country. Dr. Frist can't be serious to cite that as an example of how the United States should fund healthcare.

Please hold his feet to the fire: He stood on the floor of the Senate and said that his DIAGNOSIS, diagnosis, was that Ms. Schivo [sic] had a functional brain.

Ms. Sciavo was used by the rabid religious right wingnuts to challenge the freedoms of the individual. Her husband was the closest next of kin and his understanding of her desires were completely overridden. Frist deserves no respect whatsoever and may his god have mercy on his soul.

As a nuclear medicine technologist who has performed many brain-death scans on neurology patients, I am appalled by Senator Frist's manipulation of the facts, and his use of clever, lawyerly turns of phrase regarding Terry's case. I recommend folks read the chapter that covers this sad affair in Charles Pierce's excellent book "Idiot America".

Regarding our current health concern: It doesn't seem that medicine follows the supply and demand theory (new surgeon, raises prices, and so do others, companies spend more on advertising and are afraid to be the one to get off of the wheel, even though there is only so much return). There are limits on services--rather than limiting which services people receive, we limit which people receive the services. Single payer is not socialized medicine: hospitals remain in private hands and doctors are not employees of the government. People would be able to choose doctors or hospitals of their choice. Our country is the only first world country to teach health of our citizens an entrepreneurial enterprise! Shameful. I don't know why anyone would want to keep the health insurers with their track record. Health care is a national security issue, period.

I totally agree with ecorona and Thomas Milko. Shame on KPCC for promoting Mr.Frist's self-serving book. Shame on Mr. Frist for diagnosing outside his specialty on the floor of Congress and not apologizing for the harm he created. If his definition of a disability is force-feeding to keep someone alive, then I am sad that he has any sway in health care issues in this country.

Wow, this guy really wants to sell this book.

But Larry, the only follow-up question you asked was a about Shavo. What's up with that? You still just let his outrageous claims that the "government killed her" stand. You didn't really ask any follow-up questions on healthcare reforms.

Larry, I know your instinct is to respect doctors and ascribe altruism to them. To a large extent, I agree with you. But I hope today's interview disabused you of the notion that all doctors have the best interest of people at heart. I would like to say that I hope Dr. Frist is better than Speaker Frist, but after his diagnosis on the house floor, i have serious doubts. He is the worst kind of idealogue. I wonder if he really had any bipartisan conversations ever.

I have to say I wholeheartedly agreed with almost everything Dr. Frist stted in the interview, which surprised the heck out of me as I am a devout democrat and Obama supporter, and remain so. His stress on personal and community service, on attending to patients rather than bureaucrats, and on having health care decisions made in a way that protects patients all resonated for me. I didn't like much of what he did in the Senate, but I salute Dr. Frist for his actions with respect to overhauling health care in the US.