Why Doctors Take Issue With Obama's Health Reform Plan
Reader Comments
There is a new way not only for healthcare
all health insurance companies should be non-profit...
www.thezeitgeistmovement.com
www.thevenusproject.com
Obviously done
Apologize for my bad english, I think its a precarious piece of your writing. Kind-heartedly I organize faced alot of difficulties in this train but your article will definately eschew me in future. Hold responsible You
Nice Idea
I think the idea is good but you need to modify it a little.
Myth busting
Today I have read a myriad of false claims about the British National Health Service, some so untrue I find it hard to accept that anyone could believe them.
I read an article claiming people over 59 are refused access to certain treatments - not true, in fact people in vulnerable groups are activley encouraged to have screaning or preventativ treatment, such as mamograms for women over 40.
Similarly, there is no cut off age for receiving treatment for cancer. Chuck Grassley utterly false claims that in the UK Ted Kennedy would be refused treatment are absurd.
The self serving lunatics making up this rubbish are only interested in the kick backs they get from the private health care industry. They have no consideration for the thousands of hard working Americans who can only afford sub standard health care.
Several years ago I was taken ill whilst on holiday in the US. The health care I received was amazing, but then I saw the bill and realised why the Doctor had been so eager to refer me for so many tests, 'better to be on the safe side and rule out all other possible causes' he had said. I couldn't wait to get hoem adn back to the NHS where you know you only receive the treatment you need.
health care
I think we need national health care as long as it is not like Veterans Health care.I am a disabled vet and the Veterans Hospitals are a disgrace to the veterans that have to use them and to this country .They should close every one of the tomorrow and give the veterans a voucher for real insurance.
Doctors need to be able to treat patient with running up a high medical bill.
I agree Doctors do some unessary test some times I think they should use some of the old remedines rather than all the expeness test.I would not vote for the new health form because I think it is to get the President in control of this nation.I pray that this won"t happen.We need to be able to choose for ourselves what we need so we can still be a free nation.
Health Care Reform
What happened to our free-market capitalist country? We had the best economy in the world. I have slowly witnessed the downfall of our economy and the country as a whole with more and more government interventions. Government needs less power. It needs to be concerned with foreign relations and national security. Government has no business interfering in religion, business, or healthcare. This country's government is supposed to be by the people, for the people, and of the people. Today, it has nothing to do with the people or what we want. I hope that we find our way back to where government functions the way our fore fathers intended.
What's the big rush???
I am an insurance broker in the state of SC who works with companies with avg. 100 employees+ to provide their company benefits. I have been in this industry for 18 years and am appauled at what I am witnessing by our federal government. While I understand that healthcare/insurance benefits are expensive you get what you pay for. The country has a mentality about their health benefits and they want to literally "get what they pay for". It has become an entitlement and this has been spurred on by the generous co-pays for doctor visits and medications. What happened to traditional plans? While most people are happy with their medical benefits there are some still unsinsured. One option is to cover these uninsureds with a catastrophic plan that would include doctors visits for primary care to a free clinic approach. The feds could set these clinics up in populated areas fund the clinics and take care of the basic health needs while the catastrophic benefits would be picked up by private coverage.
We have to get back to a system of insurance and not entitlement to every little cough and sniffle we run to the doctors office. When I was a child we rarely went to the doctors and when we did my parents paid the bill and that was that. The plans were all indemnity and once you hit a certain limit the insurance kicked in.
This approach would cover all persons for the expensive medical procedures and have private insurance still cover these costs and have doctors provide quality care that would be monitored based on positive outcomes. This model is presently being introduced by carriers that I work with and we are seeing a reduced costs by rewarding the physicians that have a more favorable outcome of care.
I have found that over time as we have made health plans far to generous in benefits we have established this crieria of entitlement in America. Until we can get back to the fact that it is insurance and not entitlement it will be a tough plight to change.
I emplore our congress to learn more about how healthcare/insurance really works and make decisions that are sound in mind regarding the health of all the people of our Nation. Well, all expect the chosen ones who are actually making these decisions and will not be covered under this new healthcare system! That alone raises huge red flags.
Instead of shutting out the people in America,try polling benefits agents and brokers who work with benefits every day and insurance companies who strive to cover their insureds. We may have more solutions than you have given consideration. We do work in this field and know the reality of this subject matter. One thing I am confident in is that the current plans laid out in congress will not fix the problems we are experiencing with our healthcare system only feed the entitlement problem and make access to care more difficult.
Half Truths
Please Dr. Healy let's put on our "True Hats" for a little bit. Here are a few statements of fact that clear up some selective omissions the AMA PR work you just posted for you union.
1. Doctors in the U.S are paid over 30% higher than anywhere else in the world and the U.S system is not even in the top 20 health care systems globally. (yes they do bear some responsibility for that dismal statistic)
2. 1% of the cost of health care is attributed to lawsuits which is vastly overstated by the medical establishment.
3. A majority of MRI's and extra procedures are not done for defensive medicine but to make money. Many doctors buy MRI's at business investments and the million $ machines are paid off in a few years. After that they generate hundreds of thousands a year.
4. Here is a typical office visit Hello..no eye contact...what's the problem..well it's my knee and..(interrupt patient)....I'm giving you prescription for something that may damage your liver, is addicting, and may kill you. On the bright side it has a %20 chance of helping your pain...that will be $175 please.
5. We have a doctors shortage in this country. Maybe you should tell the AMA to quit paying medical schools to limit the numbers of doctors they graduate. (again, money motivated action taken by doctors to inflate incomes rather than what is best for the health of the country)
6. Doctor in the U.S really have a sense of entitlement (I went though x many years of school so I deserve to make 4 to 10 times more than the average college graduate) Doctors often act like spoiled children who are only appeased by goodies from their parents or in this case drug companies to peddle their wares or insurance companies bonuses to cut costs.
7. Doctors complain about long hours but how many "Doctor layoffs" do you hear about (see #5 above) Do you think there is %10 unemployment among doctors, hardly. The truth is doctors can work as many hours as they want and have multiple potential streams of income. This is off course a large part of the problem that drives medical costs. If we would adopt a Mayo Clinic type model we would solve much of that problem.
Do we need to reform the insurance industry, Yes! They are a huge part of the problem.
Do we need tort reform Yes! The lawyers have a small part in the problem.
Does the food industry play a big role in promoting obesity. Yes.
Do the drug companies need to quit doctoring studies by " cherry picking" or concealing clinical data and spending %70 of there money on promotion and buying off doctors to sell their product. Yes!
Do we need to adopt more of a holistic model for health care delivery and promotion. Yes.
Do all players need to grow up and accept that they can no longer fleece the American public Ad infinitum. Yes!
Maybe we should all quit saying Me,Me,Me, and start having constructive, frank, conversations about how we can fix the problem not just further our own agenda.
National Health care and tort claims
A national health system would protect physicians by eliminating the ambulance chasers who now operate under numerous state court systems, regional tort laws and too many attorneys.
