THCB reader JB wrote us to say:
"I guess you guys are probably aware of the huge backlash that is going
on with various medical societies around the US, due to the AMA and
other physician groups endorsement of HR 3200, and the subsequent
"meltdown" of this bill??State medical societies and
associations are "seceding" from the AMA, and threatening to further
distance themselves from AMA because their memberships massively
disagree with the purpose and positions of this proposed "healthcare
reform bill."State Medical Associations, specialty groups
(American College of Surgeons, American College of Physicians, American
Academcy of Pediatrics, etc.) are all in full back-pedal spin mode to
try and fend of their furious doctor constituent-members, who generally
were ambushed by their professional societies full-fledged endorsement
of HR 3200.This has created multiple rifts, and further
undermined support of this measure, even though Obama and Pelosi want
the public to believe this abomination of a bill is fully endorsed by
organized medicine as well as physicians in general. NOTHING could be
further from the truth."
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Administration used its secret meetings with insurance, drug company, and physician associations as a way to convince the public that the pros were all on board. However, the secrecy was as much to undercut the rank and file in each constituent group as to falsely convince the public that the plan was acceptable to all.
Yes, EHR guy, but recall that “the people” are largely not paying for their health care, thus there is no pressure from them to change. Your $800 encounter, like my own encounters with the system, must have been self-paid. If everyone had to deal with this, you’d see health reform in the blink of an eye. Although I agree the docs don’t want the party to end, the docs who comment on this blog do make the point about the patients demanding more free care. That has to change, ASAP.
Administration used its secret meetings with insurance, drug company, and physician associations as a way to convince the public that the pros were all on board. However, the secrecy was as much to undercut the rank and file in each constituent group as to falsely convince the public that the plan was acceptable to all.
The abscence of an integrated reform plan that addresses all component and not just the Administration and Legislature’s opinion on who their constituents were marks reform for failure.
The singular most critical issue with U.S. health care system is the limited capacity at the primary care end of the continuum. The problem with Access relates directly to this capacity shortage… has nothing to do with insurance coverage. Politicians want to make it about coverage because they think they can fix that… but there is no way for them to fix the limitation on capacity. Folks in Massachusetts found that out pretty quick.
When politicians dig down deep they realize that its their hand crafted ala carte reimbursement for procedures and self-serving government HHS bureaucrats and small minded political employees that are the cause of the infrastructure misalignment.
Until a reform plan brings measurable value to all components … it’s fantasy. No speech by Obama that beats up on insurance companies, pharma companies, or docs a component is going to force “rank and file… to adapt to the new world”. I cringe when I hear him throw out these barbs… which show him to only spout ‘Rham-generated’ short-sighted liberal Democratic rhetoric.
Any theory that accepts this strategy and think it will generate reform are one-dimensional ‘experts’ who have zero understanding of the very basics of supply and demand.
Any reform of the U.S. healthcare system which does not equitably address all aspects is bound for failure.
Then I guess the rank and file physicians will just have to adapt to the new world.
It’s been a mistake of this country to give ownership of healthcare to physicians, insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry, and the mogul technology vendors. Obviously, these have turned it into a profiteering scheme.
The ownership of healthcare is of the people and the reform is by and for the people and not the profiteers.
That means that we don’t give a darn about the associations or their buy-in.
Everytime I recall a 20 minute encounter with a physician in a hospital in Waterville, Maine that cost me $800 dollars, I can have a difficulty maintaining respect for the medical professional.
Thanks
This is all about timing. The groundwork was never done on the rank and file physicians to get them on board with the inevitability of reforms that would change how they practice medicine and what/how they would be paid for it. They just have not accepted that they will not be nearly as autonomous or be paid as well (for specialists, anyway).
The rank and file will ensure that cost controls in this bill are pretty small. The AMA and other provider organizations will have to retreat a bit and oppose good reforms in 2009.
But 2011, 2012, 2013 are a different story. That’s when the AMA et al will make their major concessions, assuming we get something close to UHC passed this year.
OK, this is your opinion, what else?
When we all knew that Barack Obama was the inevitable future President of the United States there were rumours of “sabre rattling” in the population of the deployed military. It all happened to be, well, BS.
Many physicians are upset because the “piñata party” is coming to an end.
The business as usual in healthcare is coming to an end. It’s not your money, it’s ours. Or you’re in it because you are service-minded and professional or you will end up probably being hired by an IT company so that we can leverage your vocabulary or jargon.
Health reform is inevitable!
Thank you,
The EHR Guy