Tuesday, November 15, 2011
There's No Such Thing As a Free Lunch
The White House on Monday announced it would free up as much as $1 billion in grants to help groups, doctors, and communities hire and train health care workers as a way both to create jobs and improve health care. (Quinton, 2011) Okay, on the face of it this looks like good news. I mean, a “grant” means to “transfer or convey” (Dictionary.com, 2011) . If I “grant” you $1 billion, then I am transferring to you the sum of $1 billion. That is not the way the government sees it – trust me, I worked there for 28 years, and I know how they think.
A “grant” from the Federal government means, “the government is going to convey a sum of money to you with certain conditions, codicils, and provisos. In this case, the “grant” is to “hire and train health care workers “ (Quinton, 2011) for the purpose of lowering the cost of healthcare. Now let me see if I have this straight. If I hire and train more healthcare workers with “grant” money, then when the money runs out I still have to pay these workers, which I have to charge the patients for, or I have to lay off the new healthcare workers which increases the unemployment rolls.
“Today’s grants can be a catalyst for the kind of innovation we need,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said at a news conference. (Quinton, 2011) . Excuse me? I always thought necessity was the Mother of invention.
“When I visit communities across the country, I continually see innovative solutions at the very ground level—a large health system working with community partners to decrease the risk of diabetes with nutrition programs or a church group that sends volunteers to help home bound seniors so they can live at home,” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Donald Berwick said in a statement. (Quinton, 2011)
To which Secretary Sebelius added, “By bringing national attention to these projects, we can help them spread to other communities,” (Quinton, 2011) . Bring attention to them, yes. Laud them and get Congress to award Medals of Freedom to their instigators and innovators, yes. Throw money at them, no.
Look, there is no such thing as a free lunch. When the Feds give you a grant, there are always strings attached; and when the grant is done, the cost of maintaining the level of service you started is on you, and your patients.
Works Cited
Dictionary.com. (2011). Dictionary.com. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from Dictionary.com: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/grant
Quinton, S. (2011, November 14). Yahoo News. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from White House Announces $1 Billion in Health Care Grants: http://news.yahoo.com/white-house-announces-1-billion-health-care-grants-114848156.html
Labels: grants, healthcare, Sebelius
