Denialism Blog

Author: MarkH

  • Cato is shocked, shocked! To find wait times for care in the US.

    The NYT reports on the differing wait times between high-cost cosmetic procedures in dermatology, and low-cost potentially life-saving screenings for melanoma and other skin cancers.

    Patients seeking an appointment with a dermatologist to ask about a potentially cancerous mole have to wait substantially longer than those seeking Botox for wrinkles, says a study published online today by The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

    Researchers reported that dermatologists in 12 cities offered a typical wait of eight days for a cosmetic patient wanting Botox to smooth wrinkles, compared to a typical wait of 26 days for a patient requesting evaluation of a changing mole, a possible indicator of skin cancer.
    …
    Dr. Michael J. Franzblau, a dermatologist in San Francisco, said doctors typically charged $400 to $600 for a Botox antiwrinkle treatment, for which patients pay upfront because insurance does not cover it.

    Meanwhile, doctors have to wait for health insurance to reimburse them for mole examinations, for which they receive an average of $50 to $75, Dr. Franzblau said.

    What’s then great is to see the “market solves all problems” types at Cato try to wrap their heads around this astonishing instance in which the market doesn’t provide good for all and cute dancing little elves.

    With regard to Medicaid, it’s easy to see what’s interfering with the price mechanism: Medicaid prices are set by state governments, and so they don’t change to eliminate shortages (i.e., waits) the way market prices might. The same is largely true of private coverage: those prices are set by insurers, who mostly just track the prices that the federal government sets through the Medicare program
    …
    But then why would there still be shortages for patients who come with cash in hand? The price mechanism seems to be working for cash-paying Botox patients, but not for cash-paying ambulatory clinic patients. One possibility is that there might be spillover effects that affect cash-payers in markets dominated by third-party payment and rigid prices. But then wouldn’t we see cash-only ambulatory clinics emerge to capture those customers? If not, that suggested supply constraints to Peter and me.

    Oh yeah, it must be the influence of medicare to blame! If it weren’t for the bad influence of those dirty socialists the private insurers would be reimbursing preventative care with gold dubloons!

    Or, maybe, just maybe, the market doesn’t provide goods equally between between socioeconomic strata. Maybe, just maybe, people who can afford 600 dollar botox injections receive faster more prompt care than the average schmo looking to figure out what some growth is. Maybe this is a sign that the profit-motive in medicine leads to shortages of care for more important needs and poorer patients as the profitable low-hanging fruit will always be more appealing than dealing with insurance companies and the average peons off the street who may not be able to pay their medical bills.

    Cato can blame “markets dominated by third-party payment and rigid prices”, and there is some truth to that, but the bigger problem is that fighting with insurance companies for reimbursement with their “mommy may I” and 10% routine rejection policies is a hassle. It’s just easier to take rich people who want botox injected into their face than practice the routine preventative care that is critical for keeping healthcare costs down. It’s a sign that our medical priorities are screwed up, the private insurance based system is not providing adequate care, and the right type of medicine is being discouraged. It’s also ironic that as much as Cato complains about wait times in Canada (wait times for “emergency” cataract surgery – oh noes!), they aren’t nearly as quick to judge a market systems critical flaws as those of a socialized one.

  • Ben Stein read the HOWTO

    Reading You Are Dumb’s take on Ben Stein and expelled, I found out they have a blog for the movie! I’m so excited, because it’s clear that Ben Stein, in his introductory post, shows he’s done his research and read the Crank HOWTO. Check it:

    Some of the greatest scientists of all time, including Galileo, Newton, Einstein, operated under the hypothesis that their work was to understand the principles and phenomena as designed by a creator.

    Really? Their hypotheses included God each time? That’s shocking. Continued.

    Operating under that hypothesis, they discovered the most important laws of motion, gravity, thermodynamics, relativity, and even economics.

    Now, I am sorry to say, freedom of inquiry in science is being suppressed.

    Under a new anti-religious dogmatism, scientists and educators are not allowed to even think thoughts that involve an intelligent creator. Do you realize that some of the leading lights of “anti-intelligent design” would not allow a scientist who merely believed in the possibility of an intelligent designer/creator to work for him… EVEN IF HE NEVER MENTIONED the possibility of intelligent design in the universe?EVEN FOR HIS VERY THOUGHTS… HE WOULD BE BANNED.

    Darwin mind-reading! We are powerful evilutionists after all, why wouldn’t we have mind-reading technology? But what a great example of crank persecution!

    In today’s world, at least in America, an Einstein or a Newton or a Galileo would probably not be allowed to receive grants to study or to publish his research.

    They cannot even mention the possibility that-as Newton or Galileo believed-these laws were created by God or a higher being. They could get fired, lose tenure, have their grants cut off. This can happen. It has happened. EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed comes to theaters near you in February 2008. To learn more, check out my blog here often … and explore the rest of our site for new developments, or to volunteer to help spread the word.

    And there we have it! A Galileo reference, perfect. I’m not sure why they think Newton is helpful for the crank. Newton, if anything, was an evil bastard who would attack anyone who was seen as a threat to his supremacy. But either way, great first blog post Ben. You’ve done your research and you’re going to fit right in with all the other cranks.

  • Skeptics' Circle Number 68 – Aardvarchaeology

    Everybody head over to Aarvarchaeology for the 68th edition of the Skeptics’ Circle.

    And while you’re there help me figure out what this picture is all about.

  • Mike Adams branches out into TB denial?

    In a scathing attack on what he calls “gunpoint medicine”, Mike Adams attacks the medical establishment for their supposed ability to imprison patients, force treatments on people against their will and generally be very very evil.

    Health officials in Lawrenceville, Georgia have arrested and jailed Francisco Santos, a teenager who tried to walk out of a hospital and go home after being diagnosed with TB (tuberculosis). Instead of allowing him to leave the hospital, health authorities arrested and jailed the teen, throwing him in into a 15 x 20 foot isolation chamber and not allowing him to leave until he submitted to chemical treatments pushed by doctors at the hospital. Francisco is being described as “…a threat to public safety” due to his tuberculosis.

    Francisco’s plight is the latest episode in a growing number of “gunpoint medicine” episodes where individuals are being arrested at gunpoint and thrown into jails or detainment centers until they submit to treatment with pharmaceuticals, chemotherapy, radiation or surgery.

    His recommendation? Don’t see a doctor!

    As these cases of Gunpoint Medicine clearly demonstrate, you now surrender your rights when you walk into a hospital. You are not a patient; you are a prisoner. And if the medical authorities, in their own opinion, perceive you as resisting their authority, they can have you arrested on the spot, without a court order, without a trial, and even when you pose no threat to others (such as having cancer). These medical arrests are taking place in clear violation of both the Fourth Amendment (protection from unreasonable search and seizure) and Fifth Amendment (due process) of the U.S. Bill of Rights.

    More crankery below the fold.

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  • What the hell happened to Fisk's brain?

    Sounds like Fisk had a stroke and started buying into Troofer nonsense this week. I’ll get right to the relevant passage and in honor of Mr. Fisk I think we’ll Fisk it.

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  • Senator Craig – I apologize in advance

    Ok, I can’t resist. What do people think of Larry Craig’s arrest for ostensibly soliciting sex in a men’s room? He’s denying he did anything wrong.

    Tuesday, in his first public statement on the arrest, the Idaho Republican said he did nothing “inappropriate.”

    “Let me be clear: I am not gay and never have been,” said Craig, who has aligned himself with conservative groups who oppose gay rights.

    However, I don’t think he has plausible deniability here. From the police account:

    A police officer who arrested him June 11 said Craig peered through a crack in a restroom stall door for two minutes and made gestures suggesting to the officer he wanted to engage in “lewd conduct.”

    Craig’s blue eyes were clearly visible through the crack in the door, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport police Sgt. Dave Karsnia wrote in the report he filed.

    “Craig would look down at his hands, ‘fidget’ with his fingers, and then look through the crack into my stall again,” Karsnia wrote in documents accompanying the arrest report.

    Craig said the officer misinterpreted his actions.

    Misinterpreted? Maybe Craig was hoping Karsnia could “spare a square”?

    It gets worse when you hear about what he might have been up to in 1982.

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  • Mice and Research

    There’s a nice little article in the Washington Post on mice in research. It’s interesting the things you learn from a piece like this. For instance, I never realized the origin of the black 6 line was from essentially a hobby breeder in New England. I also like the little slide show of various mouse strains. I recognize most of them, in particular, the ob/ob obese mouse (he’s easy to pick out).

    i-6315705b5f607d317e93ffaa1c5255f2-obese mouse.jpg

    Light stuff but interesting for those who do mouse work. And I couldn’t resist making an lolmouse:
    i-307717052d121904a6695482e0b5b46b-obeselol.jpg

  • The long term threat to science

    Props to Nick Anthis and PZ for addressing the animal rights vs animal welfare issue in science.

    In particular this statement from PZ, “Once we’ve defeated the creationists (hah!), we’re going to have to manage the next problem: well-meaning but ill-informed animal rights activists.”

    That sounds about right. If things in the United States follow the trends in Europe and Britain, the long-term and far more dangerous threat to biological science will be animal rights extremism. There is good discussion in both of these articles so check them out.

  • Denialist Deck Applied: PRISM

    It’s that time again. Bora’s got the scoop on this new organization PRISM (Partnership for Research Integrity in Science & Medicine). They purport to be the saviors of scientific publishing, protecting us from the evil of open access. But how much do you want to bet they’re the same old industry lobbying group, disguising themselves as actors in the public interest? Well, there’s an easy way to tell. Let’s apply the deck of cards!

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  • Premise Media Loves Cranks

    Anyone who has been reading Scienceblogs knows that the creationists are all in a tizzy over their new movie expelled, which plans to unite the superstar power of Ben Stein with the superscience power of creationism.

    My favorite part of the whole thing, based on my appreciation for quality crankery, is the built-in persecution.

    You see, it’s not enough to make a movie about the supposed persecution of people like Richard Sternberg (who clearly was not persecuted despite unethical behavior). They have to be persecuted for even coming up with the movie. They have to be persecuted for everything they do, 24 hours a day, because to be a crank, one has to be like Galileo.

    Hence we have headlines like:
    Hollywood Gets the Message About Suppression of Intelligent Design
    New Ben Stein Flick, Expelled, Blows the Whistle on the Darwinist Inquisition. (an Inquisition!)
    Can Ben Stein’s Expelled be sued by angry Darwinists?
    What Happened to Freedom of Speech?

    It’s really amazing the gall of people who promoted a textbook, in which they did a find-and-replace of “creationism” and “Intelligent Design”, who admitted in a federal court that ID is no more scientific than astrology, complain that they are being suppressed for “free speech”. They’re being suppressed because they don’t have any science to back up their claims – just the classic nitpicking of denialists – and because they are liars. It’s just that simple.

    This new push for their movie is great stuff though. Classic crankery. Which brings me to my next point. The money behind this silliness is Walt Ruloff’s Premise Media and promotion by Paul Lauer’s Motive Entertainment. So, they’ve gone from Mel “the Jews cause all wars” Gibson, to the DI. Maybe some crank magnetism here? Or just a fondness for those with a persecution complex?

    Next they should do a movie on Peter Duesberg. They can call it “Intolerance: The true story of how science can’t stand bullshit.”

    Any other suggestions for future titles? Think of your favorite crank, or your favorite denialist topic, and then what Premise Media would title a movie about their crankery.