Kansas Health

Where did this op-ed come from?

[Steven Wolfson, M.D., "Abandoning the sick is pretty 'evil' too," The Topeka Capital-Journal, 18 February 2005.]

What reason would a doctor in Connecticut have to write to a paper in Topeka, Kansas, and spout over-the-top rhetoric such as this:

Now the insurance industry, authorized by Congress this year, is offering high deductible policies and Health Savings Accounts that shift even more financial burden to individual subscribers. They also transfer much of the administrative burden of adding up how much we have paid for the services we have needed, how much we have left in our "account", and what services we will use.

Those who are healthy, or have secure financial resources, will take advantage of the lower premiums these plans offer. The poor will struggle. The elderly in nursing homes may simply lie there, unknowing, while the process rolls over them. But "I'm all right ... "

The answer lies in his affiliation. A quick visit to MinutemanMedia.org reveals that the good doctor is part of an effort to distribute "progressive" op-eds and "balance the flood of free columns that comes in daily from the prolific Right."

It's hard to spot the "flood of columns" they mention in Topeka, at least. Regular Cap-Journal contributors Donald Kaul and Jim Hightower are Minuteman members, and so articles like that above appear alongside others such as "You can't save Social Security by destroying it" in the same day. Perhaps someone should recommend Arnold Kling to the editors.