Hi All-
I have forwarded the link sent to me by an OB/GYN in our community. No one in congress has read this enormous health care bill in its entirety, and in its present form has concerning restrictions on expensive tests such as MRI’s, as well as the expense associated with care for the critically ill ( they sure make hospice sound like a fun place….). As a cancer patient who has NEVER had to wait to receive treatment or had the government decide which treatment I can have, this is just unacceptable.
The reality is that some change IS necessary in our health care system to provide greater access and affordability. However, the changes in the proposed legislation are drastic and far reaching for the 80% of Americans who are happy with their current health care. Understanding our social responsibilities as physicians, we are willing to do our part. However, we are also small business owners responsible for the employment and health insurance of over 50 families. While our taxes and malpractice continue to climb, as our Medicare reimbursement is being cut.
The current proposals will financially force small employers as well as school districts and other organizations into the government Public Health Option for health care. Small business owners simply can’t weather this downturn in the economy without cutting costs somewhere. If businesses don’t cover their employees, fines will be imposed by the government in amounts equal to the cost of the public option – brilliant on their part. The private insurance industry will not be able to compete against a cheaper, government subsidized plan. Each one of us will LOSE our choice to a single payer system.
Don’t be fooled by the American Medical Associations endorsement. A small fraction of the Medical Community (~ 25%) actually belongs to the AMA . In fact in a recent on-line poll of M.D.’s and D.O.’s ( conducted by SERMO – an internet physician community website), 94 % of physicians DO NOT support the current bill. It is clear that the AMA does NOT represent the majority of physicians.
Those of you from Arizona know of the physician shortages we already face within our community. The proposed cuts in reimbursement planned for doctors and hospitals with Medicare and The Public Option will make it difficult to run our small businesses and impossible to recruit physicians to our area. Many physicians in our community are not accepting new patients and we are in the dangerous position of having one trauma center for over a million people.
With the 12 year educational commitment and the financial debt incurred to become a physician, fewer people are choosing medicine as a career. You cannot add 40 million people into a system that does not have enough doctors and nurses without creating chaos. We need to start by first reinforcing the infrastructure, and then making careful changes.
As physicians, we all agree that reform needs to take place, but this is not third world medicine as the media would have you believe. Our patients receive excellent care with cutting edge diagnostics and treatments. Addressing the problem of waste, affordability and access is paramount. We feel that the current proposals would dismantle the system at the expense of quality and choice……. we don’t have to scrap the whole system. Congress is taking a very complicated problem and trying to RUSH a solution due to some artificially self-imposed deadline. The implications for unsustainable cost and lack of choice are very grave. The long term consequences will be irreversible once set into motion. Will there be rationing of health care? More than likely if we go down the wrong road.
Please take the time to sign the petition below and e-mail your congressman to slow it down and actually READ the proposed bill. Once they do, they will never vote for it. In addition, congress and the president have exempted themselves from the proposed Public Health Option………If they really believe this bill offers choice and accessibility, they should be willing to have the coverage for their families…. apparently, they are not.
Patient care should not be a partisan issue.
Please forward this to those who want a voice in their medical care,
Liz Almli , M.D.
Diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology
Scott N. Sheftel M.D.
Fellow, American Academy of Dermatology
Hi Everyone,
If the Government is allowed to implement its plans for universal healthcare the way it is currently going, we will suffer loss of choice, availability, and ultimately quality of our medical care in this country. I am not sure how anyone can possibly believe that the answer to the health care crisis is to increase government control and management.
Please take a minute to sign this petition keeping Government control OUT of healthcare: http://www.freeourhealthcarenow.com/
Thanks,
Victor Chen, MD
Fellow, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
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