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Condition Critical: What Doctors Think About Health Reform

by Edmund Jenks | October 6, 2009 at 08:06 am

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President Obama yesterday rolled out the red carpet -- and handed out doctors' white coats as well, just so nobody missed his hard-sell health-care message.

In a heavy-handed attempt at reviving support for health-care reform, the White House

orchestrated a massive photo op to buttress its claim that front-line physicians support Obama.

House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) said large numbers of doctors fear the current approach to reform being promoted by the Obama Administration would cripple their ability to care for patients.

"Members of the medical community -- who deal with red tape day in and day out -- rightly recognize that the Democrats' government takeover would weaken the doctor-patient relationship that is so critical to making the right health-care decisions," he said.

Obama made no mention of the "public option" -- a controversial government-run insurance plan favored by liberal Democrats -- in his Rose Garden spiel.

Here is some background on what real doctors think about reform and the effects it will have on their profession.

Two of every three practicing physicians oppose the medical overhaul plan under consideration in Washington, and hundreds of thousands would think about shutting down their practices or retiring early if it were adopted, a new IBD/TIPP Poll has found.

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a211423

at 09:07 on October 6th, 2009

This is from the LA Times dated September 15, 2009

Reporting from Washington - The American Medical Assn., after 60 years of opposing any government overhaul of healthcare, is now lobbying and advertising to win public support for President Obama's sweeping plan -- a proposal that promises hundreds of billions of dollars for America's doctors.

Of all the interest groups that have won favorable terms in closed-door negotiations this year, the association representing the nation's physicians may have taken home the biggest prizes, including an agreement to stop planned cuts in Medicare payments that are worth $228 billion to doctors over 10 years.

In addition, the proposal that would require all individuals to obtain medical insurance includes premium subsidies to ensure that their doctor bills would be paid.

Edmund Jenks

at 09:53 on October 6th, 2009

"In addition, the proposal that would require all individuals to obtain medical insurance includes premium subsidies to ensure that their doctor bills would be paid."

Once the Government gets involved (without the free market), the amount of money needed to pay doctor's bills will NEVER be enough.

Edmund Jenks

at 14:20 on October 6th, 2009

The AMA is only attended to, and considered important by retired doctors who are looking for something to do (read that AARP Doctors), and doctors who are just entering into the business right out of school in order to have a plaque to hang on the wall.

No working and credible doctors that actually have to practice medicine are active members of an organization such as this.

Here is the real reason why:

The War on Specialists - http://tinyurl.com/yeqtsjr