[rewboss]

In debate, "anecdotal evidence" means a story used to prove a particular point. It's usually considered a logical fallacy: that is, it's not real proof.

For example, we all know that when you are trying to repair equipment that uses high-voltage electricity, you should switch off the electricity first, otherwise you risk getting an electric shock. But I might say, "Look, I managed to repair a TV set while it was still connected to the power, and I didn't get an electric shock." That's an anecdote, but it doesn't prove that not removing the power is safe; it might be that I was simply lucky.

In the article, the author is saying that all these stories about managed care are simply anecdotes, and are not evidence that managed care is a bad thing. However, because these anecdotes are widely reported (especially by doctors who didn't like the system), many people have come to believe that such incidents are the rule, rather than the exception. This gives them a false view of managed care.

The exact phrase is an allusion to a form of execution called "death by a thousand cuts" which, it is said, was used in China. Although most likely part urban legend, the story is that the convict was given small cuts until he or she died. The idea is that although a single anecdote isn't enough to make the idea of managed care unpopular, over time a series of anecdotes might add up to cause the "death" of managed care.