Negative signs abound for the medical community today, as the House Oversight Committee prepares to hear testimony on the impact of ObamaCare on doctors and patients. First, there’s the recent Doctor Patient Medical Association poll, which found 90 percent of doctors say the medical system is on the wrong track and 83 percent are thinking about quitting (h/t Daily Caller):
KEY FINDINGS
- 90% say the medical system is on the WRONG TRACK
- 83% say they are thinking about QUITTING
- 61% say the system challenges their ETHICS
- 85% say the patient-physician relationship is in a TAILSPIN
- 65% say GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT is most to blame for current problems
- 72% say individual insurance mandate will NOT result in improved access care
- 49% say they will STOP accepting Medicaid patients
- 74% say they will STOP ACCEPTING Medicare patients, or leave Medicare completely
- 52% say they would rather treat some Medicaid/Medicare patient for FREE
- 57% give the AMA a FAILING GRADE representing them
- 1 out of 3 doctors is HESITANT to voice an opinion
- 2 out of 3 say they are JUST SQUEAKING BY OR IN THE RED financially
- 95% say private practice is losing out to CORPORATE MEDICINE
- 80% say DOCTORS/MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS are most likely to help solve things
- 70% say REDUCING GOVERNMENT would be single best fix.
Previous surveys by other pollsters have also found dissatisfaction with ObamaCare among doctors, but not to the extent found in the DPMA poll. This could be because the survey sample was self-selected — only 4.3 percent of doctors contacted actually responded to the questions. That said, the poll is pretty useful for the open-ended answers from respondents, which are published on the website.
Not that it would come as a surprise if ObamaCare was becoming less popular with doctors. Even medical industry leaders who outwardly support the health care law have started raising alarms about its implementation. Health care executives warned again yesterday that it could lead to doctor shortages, a concern many conservatives have also raised:
“There are many unknowns, given the complexities of the act,” said Chester “Chet” Burrell, president and CEO of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. “There could be surprises and unintended effects because of the complexity. All of the regulations are still not out yet and so it’s hard to know how it will work out in the final analysis.”
Burrell was joined Monday by Ronald R. Peterson, president of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Johns Hopkins Health System, and Robert A. Chrencik, president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System, in talking about reform during a session with members of the Greater Baltimore Committee. …
But the executives, who will be responsible for the law’s implementation at their organizations, said they are concerned about costs and whether there will be enough doctors to treat millions of new patients. It remains unclear what the standard insurance plan will look like under reform and how the exchanges will work. …
“We are on the one hand pleased the federal government is going to provide a substantial opportunity for states, including this one, to expand the Medicaid program,” Peterson said. “But nevertheless the underlying budget is already huge and then there will be that additional pressure. It is a concern.”
Add that to other troubling stories — like yesterday’s AP report on how the number of Texas doctors accepting Medicaid has plummeted since 2010 — and it’s clear the health care law is going to put significant strain on the medical community. ObamaCare will flood an already-overextended industry with a deluge of new Medicare patients and newly-insured people.
No worries, Alana. n nThe Obamacare Panels will design one size fits all treatment plans than will be so breathtakingly simple they can be administered by other 'health care providers'. No need for greedy doctors (who are more likely to rip out tonsils for money) other than to perhaps make the initial diagnosis – and even that will eventually be cook booked with checklists and algorithms the receptionist will be able to do before you see the nurse practitioner. n nAs for hospital overcrowding – no problem. We will import the Liverpool Protocol from the UK for that. It has been effective in clearing out close to 200,000 beds per year, while saving tens of millions of dollars in IV hydration fluids that would otherwise be wasted on screaming, complaining and otherwise high maintenance oldsters. n nOf course, look for funeral homes to experience windfall profits. Perhaps they need a little government intervention next?
It won't even take the Liverpool Protocol. All they will do is simply tell people that there is nothing wrong with them and make it a psych case should they persist in seeking care for what are real physical ailments. n nThis already is happening with college health clinics and once they declare it a "behavioral health" issue, whatever you think doesn't matter as it only reinforces their diagnosis.
The polling was done by the Doctor Patient Medical Association, which the Daily Caller describes as "a non-partisan association of doctors and patients." But even a cursory internet search will inform you that the DPMA is a member of the National Tea Party Federation and other right-wing groups. n n n n
My doctor is a Democrat who once believed that Ted Kennedy had the best ideas for medicine – before the MA Romneycare disaster. n nAnd I can see him being one of those who would prefer to see some Medicare patients FOR FREE (and give them drug rep samples for whatever he prescribes) rather than jump through all the hoops for the pittance of remittance he would get.
Two out of three “are just squeaking by, or in the red”?!
When Medicare/Medicaid went into effect in 1966 that was terrific for three classes of people, the indigent, the aged, and the medical industry.
The charges for everything from tongue depressors to surgical theaters immediately took off and haven’t stopped yet. The average cost of a day in the hospital rose from a around $200 to over $5,000 today. The shares of stock with any connection to health care skyrocketed, and doctors stopped making house calls. Their time had become too valuable.
It is ridiculous for them to claim and for Goodman to repeat with a straight face, that the medical fraternity is on the ropes and that most are thinking of quitting. They have never had it so good.
WRONG! There are people making money in the medical racket, but they are not the family doctors and primary care folk. First, remember that the profit that any business makes is net income (gross minus expenses) and that after taxes. n nFirst, there is the repayment of student loans — and then the doctor is of the age of wanting to send his own kids to college. There is malpractice insurance and that ain't cheap. nThere is rent for the office, and supplies, and all the stuff the doctor needs to read to stay current and all of that costs a whole lot more than you might think. n nAnd then look at what they actually get paid by the insurance companies — not what they bill but what they get. Not much. n nThe hospitals, the associated folk and the specialists — yes, they do good. nBut not so much the doctors.
We are all aware that ObamaCare isn't that competitive and now, it's no wonder that doctors, even those a href="http://www.memd.me/">online medical doctors are beginning to stray away. They're not only recognized well by their jobs aren't being efficient because of the prohibitions of the said rule.