Not all doctors support Obama’s healthcare reform plan
Submitted by The City Wire staff on Wed, 07/22/2009 - 8:18am.
Two Fort Smith doctors support the survey findings of a group who say a majority of U.S. physicians are opposed to Pres. Barack Obama’s healthcare reform proposal.
Sermo, the largest online community of physicians, released on July 17 a letter signed by more than 13,000 U.S. physicians. Sermo released the letter the day after the American Medical Association endorsed the President’s plan.
“Physicians are the only true advocates for their patients and this bill fails to meet what physicians need to improve the quality of care they deliver,” Dr. Daniel Palestrant, Sermo CEO, said in the statement. “By endorsing a bill that does not adequately address concerns of physicians in this country, the AMA shows again that it is out of touch with physicians and is conflicted by its own business model. We welcome both Democratic and Republican lawmakers to engage with real physicians who actually practice medicine to get real-time feedback on how to reform healthcare.”
Dr. Todd Stewart, an independent physician in Fort Smith, said most physicians he knows are opposed to Obama’s proposed plan.
“The AMA does NOT represent any of us, and very few of us are actually members,” Stewart said in an e-mail interview with The City Wire.
Stewart, who says he has read the more than 1,000-page healthcare reform bill, pointed out several areas he thinks are flawed.
“Obama is consistently politicizing two points: (1) If you're happy with your current plan, then we're gonna let you keep it. (2) This healthcare plan is gonna be deficit neutral. I won't sign anything that isn't.
“On (1) — liar, liar. The bill outlaws private insurance within 5 years. On day 1, in order for ANY current plans to remain legal then they have to meet three points: no new enrollees, no benefit changes, no premium changes — if they violate any one of the three, then they are illegal. This system is to ‘grandfather’ them in, but it expires within 5 years. After 5 years, then ALL health plans are required to be in compliance with Federal mandates on "basic" coverage, no exceptions. So, essentially, private contracts between an individual or business and and insurance company will be illegal.
“On (2) — not a lie, but a disaster. He's right, they will ensure that per CBO numbers, it will be deficit neutral ... not that it won't be in deficit, but that it won't INCREASE the deficit. Basically, the Federal government pushes it off onto businesses and the States as a mandate.”
Dr. Cole Goodman, a Fort Smith physician, also said the doctors he knows agree with the Sermo statement. He said “very few” doctors in the Fort Smith metro area are AMA members. Goodman said “it’s safe to say” most doctors think Obama’s plan will not result in better patient care.
“The current healthcare proposals aren’t going to fix anything. It’s just more of a tax,” Goodman said. “If you think you are lowering costs, fine. But if you think this will mean your care, your level of care will improve, then you’re just wrong.”
Sermo recently released results of a survey indicating that most doctors no longer want the AMA to represent them. According to the Sermo survey, 75% of physicians surveyed are not members of the AMA, and 91% of physicians surveyed do not believe the AMA accurately reflects their opinion as physicians.
Of the doctors surveyed, 87% think it is wrong that the AMA makes more money from insurance companies than it does from membership dues.
(Sermo reports that 4,156 physicians responded to a survey, conducted between July 1 and July 7, 2009; and 1,957 physicians responded to a survey, conducted between July 8 and July 16, 2009.)
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Points to ponder - it's a good day to ponder
FALLING INTO DISREPUTE
There are four basic reasons that, of which any single one of the four, will bring (slowly or rapidly) an individual or any group into a state of disrepute. These are:
1) Failing to deliver what has been promised.
2) Delivering a poor or bad result.
3) Delivering no result.
4) Waiting too long to deliver.
Veteran's Healthcare
Don't our veterans get some form of government run healthcare? How is that going? What were the conditions of Walter Reed? Why are some veterans needing the courts to ensure their treatment?
Do you really want the government's hands on your healthcare after they have proven time and time again they not capable?
To answer your question, I
To answer your question, I have been a member of the VA for years and have seen continuing improvements in services, particularly with all the wounded from Iraq.
There is a hospital in Fayetteville and Little Rock with with most of the specialty medical services. About ten years ago a clinic was opened in Fort Smith at the old Holt Krock clinic. It has expanded steadily with added services.
You are registered onto a team of about 200 vets. Each team has a doctor, nurse and administrator assigned...there are now over 10 teams in FS and new clinics are being opened in Ozark and I believe Harrison. Your team assigns you to the hospitals for specialty treatment.
You have to visit the doctor once a year to stay active and receive a full physical including blood work and x-rays. All meds are available at very low cost. I think a new pharmacy was just opened in FS. The quality of service has improved steadily and rivals either clinic in FS. If this what universal health care is all about...lead me to it.
I have just been fitted with new, digital hearing aids up in Fayetteville which included a complete doctor exam, hearing tests, etc. Then fitted for the appliances and when they arrived was checked, tested, trained and sent off with a full supply of batteries. Somewhere around six to seven thousand dollars in services.
I also received advanced degrees on the GI Bill, so my years of service are being rewarded very well.
And by the way, the officers and docs involved in the Walter Reed mess were either relieved or retired or both.
Many of you talk a lot with out accurate knowledge about that which you speak. Grow up, get with it, and show some respect. There has been way too much personality bashing on here lately. A few real smart asses!
Too bad VA docs don't need
Too bad VA docs don't need malprac insurance. The lawsuits go straight to the government.
ie. They dont have to cover their own asses like the rest.
"Many of you talk a lot with out accurate knowledge about that which you speak. Grow up, get with it, and show some respect. There has been way too much personality bashing on here lately. A few real smart asses!"
right back at ya.
Point is, no one knows
Point is, no one knows including the government what the accurate knowledge entails. No REAL study has been done on universal health care.
I respect you for serving our country, But you did not serve this country just to sit back and let government tell people who, what, where and how.
Nor did all the physicians dedicate a lifetime of difficult expenses,studies and practice to be targeted
for the rising cost of health care.
What about the rising cost of government?
The Obama plan is 1013 pages
The Obama plan is 1013 pages long. I would like the anonymous person who thinks that doctors are greedy to read the plan and explain it to me. I worked in the medical field for 25 years and I can assure you...physicians earn every dime they make. I am now the CFO for a small business (43 employees) who provides insurance coverage for our employees at a cost of only 20% to them. If our "small business" is forced to pick up the tab for those who cannot afford or who are not willing to pay for health insurance, we will simply lay off workers which helps no one, especially the economy in FSM. I also know TODD Stewart (Jerry's son who is quoted) and Cole Goodman. I can tell you there are no finer physicians and both have contributed much to underpriviledged, those with no health insurance, and our community.__Wanda Gray
So everything is perfect
I agree with the assessment of Todd and Cole as well as Jerry. They are all fine people and very giving. Greed is not a factor. But...do they and they comments feel that our present non-system of health care is adequate? I don't think so. Many fear dealing with a government bureaucrat would be distasteful. Obviously they have never dealt with an HMO and private insurance companies. We really don't know as yet what the plan is going to be but whatever it is we're against it. That is the words to an old Marx bros. song in one of their movies. That seems to be the attitude. Dr. Goodman is right. We don't have enough Docs and nurses to supply the need we have. We need more medical schools and nursing schools and a system that can adequately compensate them when they are working. The present system rewards the specialists who stick something in you or cut something out or both. The primary Docs whose job it is to keep you healthy are given the shaft. The priority is skewed. Dr. Stewart knows this first hand in his dispute with Cooper Clinic. Costs are out of hand because pricing is based of providing uncompensated care. It is money out of our pocket because the uninsured are not payinng into the system. Come up with solutions...Don't just be against it like Groucho,.
Tongue in cheek It is my
Tongue in cheek
It is my job, I'm the president!
nuff said...
What?
"Tongue in cheek It is my job, I'm the president! nuff said" What the hell does that mean? Again the query, Is this system the way you want it? Do you think we can do better? Or are you just one who doesn't care about escalating prices (not costs, they are static)for basic health care and 45 million people who are uninsured?
Do better than government
Do better than government involvement? Hell yes!
Since you brought out the numbers, Out of how man 45 million are not covered by choice? How many are on welfare by choice? Escalating prices on all insurance come from fear of frivolous law suits. Worker compensation is extremely high, General liability is extremely high, not just health care.
I think if you took a poll on available health care provided by small business and poll the non-covered by choice your bleeding heart would not bleed so much. Will be very high.
And that smart ass remark came from your president a couple of nights ago to stop a heckler. What the question was? who knows but the subject was on the Obama health care take over.
Choice?
I don't buy a Bentley by choice. Really? I can't afford it, so by choice I don't have one. Does someone not have health coverage by choice? Maybe. Some 20 year old who thinks he is invincable would rather have a jet ski and when he is rendered incompacitated in a jet ski accident you and I cover his irresponsible ass for the rest of his life. You mention workers comp. Why is it high? The high cost of medical care. Your attitude indicates to me that you consider all liability lawsuits frivolous. Really? I bet you would be the first the lawyers if some sawbones prescribed the wrong meds or cut off the wrong leg or your grandmother was left to rot in some flea bitten nursing home from untreated bedsores. Does our system of compensation for medical injuries need to be updated? You bet. There needs to be a better way that is not so expensive to access. The insurance industry, or scam, is the main problem and they can't stand the thought of any competition where the goal would be providing treatment and not giving bonuses to those most successful at denying benefits.
Shows you know nothing about
Shows you know nothing about me.
Health insurance compared to a Bentley?
Great comparison!
It's okay to sit back and let this administration say they can fix this by taking control and insuring everyone. Lets see, social security is working well don't you think? EPA is another fine institution. medicare/medicaid another good example.
You name me one thing the government does (besides the mafia of business IRS) that is an efficient and worthwhile program.
Why not prove to america and fix whats present and show some efficiency to be an example for the private sector, versus jumping out and grasping another entity to sink and cause problems with no real thought involved?
Workers compensation is based on pools of companys for small business and not on injuries for any one in particular. General liability is based on payroll, type of business and claims. Depending on what type of business you're in will dictate rates. Electricians, plumbers, etc have very high auto insurance and usually are required to carry a min. $1,000,000.00 general liability policy to even walk in a commercial building.
Not to worry though, small business is picking up the tab on workers compensation.
Accidents and injuries can happen and we want our employees safe and healthy.
Enough on business, it is a responsibility on an individual to insure with health coverage.
Point is you threw a number of 45,000,000 non covered helpless indivuals that are out there.
How many are not covered by choice? Yes, believe it or not. By choice meaning they have a job, making a decent salary and refuses to have health insurance be it the young age or just have themselves in deep debt they feel that extra money could be used elsewhere?
I would like for my doctor to be concerned with the human body versus a panel of recommendations and mountains of paperwork.
Would health insurance rates go down if every employee was required to carry insurance as they are required to have insurance driving a car? Has this been addressed?
What message will the goverment taking over the healthcare system be sending to people who have spouse's that work for a company for the wonderful benefits and great health insurance?
Did the insurance industry point fingers at the health care in order to somehow keep Big Sam off their backs? Nice how you can have a little hail storm and every damn house gets a new roof regardless of damage. Waste?
Government will always
Government will always inflate numbers regardless of facts to get policy a push. Why the doctors? They have enough paper work as stated below and ask any doctor about paper work on medicare your government already at work. Yes there are people who need help, but on the flip side there are many that don,t and either by choice or by a free ride refuse health insurance. Why should goverment include those individual numbers to the non covered total? What ARE those numbers? Small business can give you that information because most run a tight ship unlike government they cannot run in a deficit very long otherwise that business will fail, Unless, you are a very large business that can receive a stimulus. My business of 6 employees runs 50% covered and by choice 50% non.
Fact, a deficit too long is certain failure to any business. Why would you want any entity that normally runs in a deficit,(waste) government for example to be involved in your business?
Government can't manage itself. That scares the hell out of the private sector.
So many comments
about "Obama's" health care. What precisely is Obama's healthcare proposal? Isn't it still being written by Congress and in various forms still in committee?
Sacrifices for you
My brother is a physician, and I have seen not only what he has sacrificed during his college years, medical school years, and residency/fellowships to get where he is today, but also what he is sacrificing currently for the benefit of his patients. The average internal medicine doctor gets paid around 145,000. It may sound like a lot at first, but when you factor in his hours, the fact that before and after his clinic hours he rounds on patients in the hospital, his 8+ years of education AFTER college, the thousands of dollars he pays every year for malpractice insurance, the overhead for his clinic/nurse's fee/secretary, and that during those years of education while he was getting deeper and deeper in debt someone like you was making money and enjoying your weekends, I think he doesn't get paid enough. I would much rather be making 75,000 a year with a 9 to 5/weekends & holiday off kind of job. I have heard so many negative comments about physicians from people on these blogs, and my advice, if you don't like your doctor find a new one! I certainly have wonderful physicians. It is sad to me that the same people who want to give a talk show host or sports players millions a year are always at the front of the line to advocate a decrease in physicians pay for saving lives after all the sacrifices they made to get where they are. Do you even know how your hospital bills are computed, or are you uneducated enough to think all that money goes to your physician? If you think they make so much, why don't you become one? Didn't think so...
Not Surprising!
Most doctors are like Jerry Stewart - GREEDY.
Notice I'm not posting
Notice I'm not posting anonymously. I've known Jerry Stewart for going on 32 years. Greedy he is NOT! It is very easy to impugn someone's integrity anonymously.
The other issue that I hope Michael will address in the future is tha neither Obama nor congress are addressing/discussing the severe shortage of physicians and nurses nationwide. How do you reform and overhaul something when the people responsible for providing care/service/product are dwindling and no mechanism to improve their numbers. The number of physicians in this countyry is based on government assumptions 30 years ago when our population was 190-200,000,000 not over 300,000,000.
Cole Goodman
As a premedical student, I
As a premedical student, I can personally vouch for the fact that not those in the medical field oppose universal health care on a financial level. I refuse to practice in any universal health care system due to the strictures placed upon doctors in how they are allowed to treat their patients. Medicare and Medicaid alone are nightmares when it comes to the subject. If President Obama truly wants to convince doctors and others in the medical field that universal health care is a good idea, fix Medicare and Medicaid first-- prove that the idea of universal health care (which Medicare and Medicaid essentially are) can work.
Yo'bama will push this thing
Yo'bama will push this thing since he will want to keep the welfare,homeless, and student votes. It's not the doctors that are greedy, it's an insurance and frivolous lawsuits problem. You think malpractice is bad now? If this thing happens there will be a strong push and demand to bring in fresh not so ready doctors to handle the extra freebies that can afford but refuse medical insurance. Lord help us, We still have 3.5 more years of this "Wonderdog" President.
How many spouse's you think are employed just to work for good medical benefits? There are many talented men and women that are very good employees that work for that very reason since the other spouse may be self employed or his or her insurance is way out of line. This thing is going to snowball in a very bad way.
Doctors are "GREEDY"? Get real and think about our efficient government totally involved in the health care system.
Many company's offer
Many company's offer insurance to their employees. Most even pay 1/2 or more premiums on the employee. On average the younger employee age 20 to 35 refuse to take out insurance since they believe they are indestructible. Some of the insurance is available before taxes for Pete's sake.
So the numbers that you get on non coverage will be inflated with many people that can afford coverage but refuse to deduct any for health care. They would rather make payments on a 4 wheeler or a jet ski boat. Priority is all backwards.
Wow, Talk about painting
Wow, Talk about painting fresh dog crap white to make it look good. How did you like the way government is including small business as deprived and cannot afford to insure employees? Damn, include it in your overhead and price right to make it work.
If a small business will take time to look and research there are many small business affordable plans one can choose. Some plans with higher deductibles still offer drug cards and doctor visits.
As told last night all the non-covered and small business will suckle on a large business or the wealthy's tit? Funny how O'bama feels it is wrong to to be wealthy in America. The movers and shakers of America, you realize you have a co-signer on all your accounts.
Need to find 1/3 to help totally pay for this program? Yeah, I like the way his numbers game went with the stimulus as well.
In respect to all the doctors, You don't make "ENOUGH" money to have this looming over you!
Pharmaceutics, insurance,
Pharmaceutics, insurance, and lawyers.
I was bumped in the back of my truck with very little damage(scratch on the bumper) to my vehicle and no injury. I had at least four letters from different law firms across the state recommending me to go to the doctor and get checked out for hidden injury, and to please contact them so they could try to get me compensation? And we ask why our insurance is escalating?
Those three need and deserve O'bama reform!