Dr. Eugene Farley on Health Care Reform
Refuting the Blatherers
Refuting the Blatherers
By Jonathan Gramling
Part 1 of 2
Dr. Eugene Farley isn’t swayed by any of the spinning and slanting of information
coming out about health care reform. Farley and his late wife Dr. Linda Farley have
been staunch supporters of health care reform for decades and would prefer to have a
single payer system. Farley’s opinions about the U.S. health care system have been
formed and hewn by growing up in the Great Depression and practicing medicine in
the 1950s, first in a rural setting, then as a family medicine practitioner and finally as a
professor at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health before he retired. He’s
weighed — and heard — all of the arguments for years and gets exasperated by the
spinning of political pundits against health care reform whom he calls “blatherers.”
“I’m so sick and tired of the blather coming from the conservatives who have
been blathering ever since Truman,” Farley as we sat down for coffee. “We were old
enough, Linda and I, and I was in the Navy when Truman first started and then I was in
college and listened to the blather against what he was saying. In fact, I used to listen
Part 1 of 2
Dr. Eugene Farley isn’t swayed by any of the spinning and slanting of information
coming out about health care reform. Farley and his late wife Dr. Linda Farley have
been staunch supporters of health care reform for decades and would prefer to have a
single payer system. Farley’s opinions about the U.S. health care system have been
formed and hewn by growing up in the Great Depression and practicing medicine in
the 1950s, first in a rural setting, then as a family medicine practitioner and finally as a
professor at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health before he retired. He’s
weighed — and heard — all of the arguments for years and gets exasperated by the
spinning of political pundits against health care reform whom he calls “blatherers.”
“I’m so sick and tired of the blather coming from the conservatives who have
been blathering ever since Truman,” Farley as we sat down for coffee. “We were old
enough, Linda and I, and I was in the Navy when Truman first started and then I was in
college and listened to the blather against what he was saying. In fact, I used to listen
to it because I thought there was some validity. But then every time it comes up nationally, we hear exactly the same stuff, all of it disproved,
using the term ‘We don’t want the government in our medicine.’”
Sarcastically, Farley talked about the things that conservatives and those who believe them are against. “Well we don’t want the
government in our fire department. We don’t want the government in our highways. We don’t want the government in our military. I mean, they
talk nonsense.”
In the 1960s, the debate about nationalized health care came up again and Farley felt it had a decent chance of getting approved given the
fact that the Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and the White House. But there were strong interests that worked against it and the
compromise was Medicare, which is a single payer, government-run medical insurance program for the elderly.
“Medicare revolutionized things in this country,” Farley said. “It helped make doctors rich. It even led to the integration of hospitals
because hospitals couldn’t get paid if they didn’t integrate. So it was a revolutionary thing that benefitted people and not insurance companies.
But why the insurance companies let Medicare get passed is they didn’t want the older people any way. We cost more. So they were delighted.
They take care of the elderly only when they think they can make a profit off of the older people by having the government pay the insurance
companies to care for me instead of pay the doctor directly. The gaming of the system is awful.”
And Farley could see the pre and post impact of Medicare when he was in private practice in a rural area. “Linda and I were in a rural
practice where there were not many wealthy elderly,” Farley recalled. “In fact, they were mainly people who had lost their spouse and now were
retired and in single room housing in a small rural town that didn’t cost much. They couldn’t afford the $4 to come to the office. We didn’t charge
them necessarily. But once Medicare came in, they started coming in earlier, more appropriately to follow up and their medicine was taken care
of. In the past, they didn’t come in because they were proud people. And a conservative blathers that people who come in and don’t have health
care coverage are irresponsible. Nonsense! They are responsible people who don’t want to go broke because they are buying something that
doesn’t help them or they can’t afford it. And they don’t want to pay a reduced doctor fee, even if it is 50 cents per month if they think it is charity.”
Farley supports a single payer insurance system because it keeps the health care system focused on the right thing. “If I’m the CEO of an
insurance company, my only responsibility is to maximize profit on Wall Street because if I don’t look good on Wall Street, then you get rid of
me,” Farley said. “So my responsibility is to make sure I insure the young, the healthy and the people who don’t need coverage and I don’t
insure people with pre-existing conditions or charge them fantastic fees to do it. And then I disapprove as many things as I can even if they are
covered.”
And while it is often said that a government-run system would just create a large government bureaucracy, Farley points out that our
present system has a pretty big bureaucracy of its own. “We have the most bureaucratic, administratively top-heavy, irrational expensive health
care system in the world. And Americans say they love it,” Farley said sarcastically. “‘Let’s keep it. Don’t trust these other countries that have
everyone covered for less than half the price and have better outcomes.’”
Next Issue: More on health care reform
using the term ‘We don’t want the government in our medicine.’”
Sarcastically, Farley talked about the things that conservatives and those who believe them are against. “Well we don’t want the
government in our fire department. We don’t want the government in our highways. We don’t want the government in our military. I mean, they
talk nonsense.”
In the 1960s, the debate about nationalized health care came up again and Farley felt it had a decent chance of getting approved given the
fact that the Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and the White House. But there were strong interests that worked against it and the
compromise was Medicare, which is a single payer, government-run medical insurance program for the elderly.
“Medicare revolutionized things in this country,” Farley said. “It helped make doctors rich. It even led to the integration of hospitals
because hospitals couldn’t get paid if they didn’t integrate. So it was a revolutionary thing that benefitted people and not insurance companies.
But why the insurance companies let Medicare get passed is they didn’t want the older people any way. We cost more. So they were delighted.
They take care of the elderly only when they think they can make a profit off of the older people by having the government pay the insurance
companies to care for me instead of pay the doctor directly. The gaming of the system is awful.”
And Farley could see the pre and post impact of Medicare when he was in private practice in a rural area. “Linda and I were in a rural
practice where there were not many wealthy elderly,” Farley recalled. “In fact, they were mainly people who had lost their spouse and now were
retired and in single room housing in a small rural town that didn’t cost much. They couldn’t afford the $4 to come to the office. We didn’t charge
them necessarily. But once Medicare came in, they started coming in earlier, more appropriately to follow up and their medicine was taken care
of. In the past, they didn’t come in because they were proud people. And a conservative blathers that people who come in and don’t have health
care coverage are irresponsible. Nonsense! They are responsible people who don’t want to go broke because they are buying something that
doesn’t help them or they can’t afford it. And they don’t want to pay a reduced doctor fee, even if it is 50 cents per month if they think it is charity.”
Farley supports a single payer insurance system because it keeps the health care system focused on the right thing. “If I’m the CEO of an
insurance company, my only responsibility is to maximize profit on Wall Street because if I don’t look good on Wall Street, then you get rid of
me,” Farley said. “So my responsibility is to make sure I insure the young, the healthy and the people who don’t need coverage and I don’t
insure people with pre-existing conditions or charge them fantastic fees to do it. And then I disapprove as many things as I can even if they are
covered.”
And while it is often said that a government-run system would just create a large government bureaucracy, Farley points out that our
present system has a pretty big bureaucracy of its own. “We have the most bureaucratic, administratively top-heavy, irrational expensive health
care system in the world. And Americans say they love it,” Farley said sarcastically. “‘Let’s keep it. Don’t trust these other countries that have
everyone covered for less than half the price and have better outcomes.’”
Next Issue: More on health care reform
Dr. Eugene Farley speaks at a health care reform rally on
the State Capitol steps last July.
the State Capitol steps last July.
