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Dr. Zane F. Pollard
While the healthcare reform debate has been picking up this summer, the conversation is mostly between politicians and average citizens who do not practice medicine. US doctors and nurses seem to have been left out from this dispute, even though the outcome will influence them, their lives, their practice, and their ability to stay in business, enormously.
Clearly, if the reform is not private practice "friendly" we as a community might lose our best physicians and our economy might weaken as a result of doctors shutting down or going out of business.
Below is an opinion of one of Atlanta's most recognized physicians, Dr. Zane F. Pollard, who works in pediatric ophthalmology for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, Atlanta, GA.
ObamaCare and me
I have been sitting quietly on the sidelines watching all of this national debate on healthcare. It is time for me to bring some clarity to the table by explaining many of the problems from the perspective of a doctor.
First off, the government has involved very few of us physicians in the healthcare debate. While the American Medical Association has come out in favor of the plan, it is vital to remember that the AMA only represents 17% of the American physician workforce.
I have taken care of Medicaid patients for 35 years while representing the only pediatric ophthalmology group left in Atlanta, Georgia that accepts Medicaid. For example, in the past 6 months I have cared for three young children on Medicaid who had corneal ulcers. This is a potentially blinding situation because if the cornea perforates from the infection, almost surely blindness will occur. In all three cases the antibiotic needed for the eradication of the infection was not on the approved Medicaid list.
Over the past 35 years I have cared for over 1000 children born with congenital cataracts. In older children and in adults the vision is rehabilitated with an intraocular lens. In newborns we use contact lenses which are very expensive. It takes Medicaid over one year to approve a contact lens post cataract surgery. By that time a successful anatomical operation is wasted as the child will be close to blind from a lack of focusing for so long a period of time.
Again, extreme rationing. Solution: I have a foundation here in Atlanta supported 100% by private funds which supplies all of these contact lenses for my Medicaid and illegal immigrants children for free. Again, waiting for the government would be disastrous.
Last week I had a lady bring her child to me. They are Americans but live in Sweden, as the father has a job with a big corporation. The child had the onset of double vision 3 months ago and has been unable to function normally because of this. They are people of means but are waiting 8 months to see the ophthalmologist in Sweden. Then if the child needed surgery they would be put on a 6 month waiting list. She called me and I saw her that day. It turned out that the child had accommodative esotropia (crossing of the eyes treated with glasses that correct for farsightedness) and responded to glasses within 4 days, so no surgery was needed. Again, rationing of care.
Last month I operated on a 70 year old lady with double vision present for 3 years. She responded quite nicely to her surgery and now is symptom free. I also operated on a 69 year old judge with vertical double vision. His surgery went very well and now he is happy as a lark. I have been told -- but of course there is no healthcare bill that has been passed yet -- that these 2 people because of their age would have been denied surgery and just told to wear a patch over one eye to alleviate the symptoms of double vision. Obviously cheaper than surgery.
I spent two year in the US Navy during the Viet Nam war and was well treated by the military. There was tremendous rationing of care and we were told specifically what things the military personnel and their dependents could have and which things they could not have. While I was in Viet Nam, my wife Nancy got sick and got essentially no care at the Naval Hospital in Oakland, California. She went home and went to her family's private internist in Beverly Hills. While it was expensive, she received an immediate work up. Again rationing of care.
For those of you who are over 65, this bill in its present form might be lethal for you. People in England over 59 cannot receive stents for their coronary arteries. The government wants to mimic the British plan. For those of you younger, it will still mean restriction of the care that you and your children receive.
While 99% of physicians went into medicine because of the love of medicine and the challenge of helping our fellow man, economics are still important. My rent goes up 2% each year and the salaries of my employees go up 2% each year. Twenty years ago, ophthalmologists were paid $1800 for a cataract surgery and today $500. This is a 73% decrease in our fees. I do not know of many jobs in America that have seen this sort of lowering of fees.
But there is more to the story than just the lower fees. When I came to Atlanta, there was a well known ophthalmologist that charged $2500 for a cataract surgery as he felt the was the best. He had a terrific reputation and in fact I had my mother's bilateral cataracts operated on by him with a wonderful result. She is now 94 and has 20/20 vision in both eyes. People would pay his $2500 fee.
However, then the government came in and said that any doctor that does Medicare work cannot accept more than the going rate ( now $500) or he or she would be severely fined. This put an end to his charging $2500. The government said it was illegal to accept more than the government-allowed rate. What I am driving at is that those of you well off will not be able to go to the head of the line under this new healthcare plan, just because you have money, as no physician will be willing to go against the law to treat you.
I am a pediatric ophthalmologist and trained for 10 years post-college to become a pediatric ophthalmologist (add two years of my service in the Navy and that comes to 12 years).A neurosurgeon spends 14 years post -college, and if he or she has to do the military that would be 16 years. I am not entitled to make what a neurosurgeon makes, but the new plan calls for all physicians to make the same amount of payment. I assure you that medical students will not go into neurosurgery and we will have a tremendous shortage of neurosurgeons. Already, the top neurosurgeon at my hospital who is in good health and only 52 years old has just quit because he can't stand working with the government anymore. Forty-nine percent of children under the age of 16 in the state of Georgia are on Medicaid, so he felt he just could not stand working with the bureaucracy anymore.
We are being lied to about the uninsured. They are getting care. I operate at least 2 illegal immigrants each month who pay me nothing, and the children's hospital at which I operate charges them nothing also.This is true not only on Atlanta, but of every community in America.
The average career of a woman in medicine now is only 8-10 years and the average work week for a female in medicine is only 3-4 days. I have now trained 35 fellows in pediatric ophthalmology. Hands down the best was a female that I trained 4 years ago -- she was head and heels above all others I have trained. She now practices only 3 days a week.
Comments
"People in England over 59 cannot receive stents for their coronary arteries. The government wants to mimic the British plan."
That is completely untrue, in relation to the UK's National Health Service.
Hello,
I sympathize with all medical issues. It wasn't until this past year i realize how exspensive treatments and X rays and office visits are. My 13yr has a multiple fractured hand and medicaid isn't accepted in by
many surgeons I have contacted. This hand pains her daily! I am at a lost. I work but not enough to cover the costs. It is $250 or more just for visit and x-rays. I am recovering from loosing my apartment because my truck stop running! Recently repaired with transmission. If there is anyone in the state of Georgia with knowledge of a Surgeon willing to accept medicaid please email me tiffshorter78@yahoo.com
I have received similar denials from insurance companies and had formularies from those same companies changed every year making it difficult to treat my patients. On numerous occassions Medicaid provided more choices for my patients than the insurance companies that reduced my compensation while attempting to increase my patient load. We need change! But the change must be reasonable and must include people like Dr. Pollard so that we can address the problems in the system. More discussion and more problem solving is required. I am so glad that there is a threat of passage of legislation, because without that true threat there would be no movement on Healthcare Change!! Remember the attacks on Clinton!! We now have people rising up and expressing their concerns loudly and we have the best chance of getting something real done. Many of my colleagues have spent years complaining and doing nothing!! In the last week I have seen more activity out of the ones who havent quit primary care.
Dr. Pollard states that, should the Obama health plan be instituted, "It has been estimated that approximately 5% of the current physician work force will quit under this new system." I can believe that they will quit "the system," but I cannot believe that they will quit "the practice." I believe that we will end up with two systems: one will be for the masses who will fall under Obama's plan; and one will exist for the wealthy, who will still be able to--and will want to--pay for the privilege of going to whom they want when they want.
I'm sure that Dr. Pollard is a respectable member of society and is entitled to his opinion on this matter. I disagree with him on almost all of his points but can't begin right now to take the time to discredit his allegedly honest statistics one by one. However, his condemnation of British NHS is based on a completely false anonymously posted email which is being circulated via the "internets" on right wing websites.
If you are interested in a true assessment of the British NHS, please read the following responses, researched and well documented on Buzzle.com, based on Guardian News and Media research.
Is Public Healthcare in the Uk As Sick As Rightwing America Claims?
Denis Campbell and Girish Gupta assess the claims made by rightwing Americans about the failings of the NHS
The claim
Ted Kennedy, above, 77, would not be treated for his brain tumor if he was in Britain because he is too old – Charles Grassley, Republican senator from Iowa.
The response
Untrue, says t
You can certainly challenge Dr. Pollard concerning his claims regarding the details of new legislation since there are multiple bills under construction and everybody is "ill-informed" by definition. Claiming you know what is or will be in the bill is equally fallacious. And even once a bill is produced, the bill will be unintelligle, subject to broad interpretation. Here is but one section of one of the bills: "SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION. (a) Medicare. — (1) IN GENERAL. — Section 1861 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x) is amended — (A) in subsection (s)(2) — (i) by striking 'and' at the end of subparagraph (DD); (ii) by adding 'and' at the end of subparagraph (EE); and (iii) adding at the end the following new subparagraph: '(FF) advance care planning consultation (as defined in subsection (hhh)(1) … "
And there are only 1016 pages to go, keep reading. Dr.Pollard's day to day experiences with Medicare/Medicaid should be a warning of things to come.
Thank you for the informative article written from the view point of a physician. There should be more input from physicians on any healthcare bill.
Additionally, without malpractice insurance overhaul and with drops in reimbursements from health insurance companies, including medicaid/medicare, I forsee more physicians not being able to pay their malpractice. This is particularly the case for ob/gyn physicians. At this point in time, there are pockets of areas where ob/gyn physicians have closed down b/c they can't afford malpractice insurance premiums. I think it's futile to provide universal health care when gov't can ensure universal access b/c physicains can't afford to practice and become exceedingly discouraged by have to put up with bureacracy. I agree with Dr. Pollard; as a resident physician I am extremely discouraged by the proposed plans and may very well at some point in my career drop medicine b/c of the loss of the reward of caring for patients by using my knowledge and skills count for nothing b/c the gov't knows better than I do on how to care for patients. Remember, "not all patients read the text book".
Health care is not a right wing/left wing issue. It is a doctor patient issue. Everyone else needs to butt out. Government and insurance companies are the problem, not Dr Pollard for being a doctor nor old people for being old. If health care is a right it means we own the doctors and nurses. Didn't we fight a war because some people thought we could own other people?
A Common Sense approach to solving our U.S. Health Care problems [nit-picking the proposed plans won't cut it] -
1. Demand your politicians pass HR25/S296, The FairTax [www.fairtax.org], so you can have both a non-govt job and lots of money to buy lots of stuff like private health ins. [The advantage to politicians is they will have more tax money to spend than they could ever imagine, and without constituent complaint because they too will have more money to spend than they could ever imagine.]
2. Demand your politicians terminate ALL govt controlled health care and let private industry run it rather than the govt. [Are you aware how few Americans are dis-satisfied with what they currently have?]
3. Ask your politicians, "Why should I vote for you next time?"
4. VOTE next time and vote to REMOVE EVERY incumbent ... let the replacements know they will also be replaced ASAP if they do not follow the Will of The People. [Those who are GOOD, yet replaced, can help the newbies.]
Bottom Line Govt. Based Healthcare is not the answer!!!
Former Congressman and House Majority Leader Dick Armey warns that the government is planning to exploit a hyped swine flu outbreak this fall in order to reinvigorate support behind its failing Obamacare agenda.
Armey is confident that the grass roots backlash against Obamacare will cause the plan to fail, but warns that the government has one last trick up its sleeve which it is preparing to pull in the next few months.
The former House leader told the Financial Times that wavering lawmakers in both parties might be won over by an engineered crisis that the Obama administration is planning to exploit.
“In September or October there will be a hyped up outbreak of the swine flu which they’ll say is as bad as the bubonic plague to scare the bed-wetters to vote for healthcare reform,” said Mr Armey. “That is the only way they can push something on to the American people that the American people don’t want.”
As we reported last week, Georgia Congressman Paul Broun gave a simila
My granddaughter recently had two eye surgeries to correct what is commonly referred to as a "lazy eye." The cost: $13,000. per operation... each taking only 30 minutes.... or $26,000. per hour. I find it difficult to believe that if doctors only charged $10,000. per hour that we "might lose our best physicians and our economy might weaken as a result of doctors shutting down or going out of business." Philip in New Orleans, Born Again Democrat
Claim: “the government has involved very few of us physicians in the healthcare debate”
Fact: In addition to the AMA he noted as supporting the reform, a coalition of seven other physician organizations which included the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Osteopathic Association stated “We believe that the health care our patients receive will be better within a reformed system. As physicians and future physicians, we stand in firm support of the patient-centered changes being outlined in Congress.”
Claim:. People in England over 59 cannot receive stents for their coronary arteries
Fact: It is illegal in England to discriminate on the basis of age for providing care. Standard One of England’s National Service Framework reads” NHS services will be provided, regardless of age, on the basis of clinical need alone. Social care services will not use age in their eligibility criteria or policies, to restrict access to available services.”
Claim: the new plan calls for all physicians to make the same amount of payment
There is no such provision in any of the health insurance reform proposals.
Claim: We are being lied to about the uninsured. They are getting care.
Fact: The argument is not that they receive no care, but they receive too little too late. Kaiser Family Foundation writes “Over 50% of uninsured adults have no regular source of health care. Worried about high medical bills, they are four times more likely to delay or forgo needed care than the insured. . . Delaying or forgoing needed care can lead to more serious health problems, making the uninsured more likely to be hospitalized for avoidable conditions. Overall, the uninsured are also less likely to receive preventive care. Researchers estimate that continuous health coverage could decrease premature mortality rates by up to 25% among uninsured adults.”
I wish to inform aberembe that the AMA agreed to the health care bill "with some reservations". Also I do not believe the other medical organizations mentioned are in agreement with Government control health care. Name one branch of government that operates within budget. I will give you that the military does not have to operate within its budget due to their varying needs depending on world crisis. Obama has broken every one of his campaign promises. I ave no more faith in his leadeership.
I asked for confirmation of the 8 month wait to see an opthalmolgist in Sweden from VASA, a Swedish-American fraternal order and was told that he had never heard of anyone having to wait to see an ophthalmologist in Sweden. Eye surgery, maybe, if it’s not acute. His father lined up cataract surgery within a couple of weeks without any problem whatsoever.
I find it interesting that no one is defending that it's fine to leave the topic of tort reform alone. We live in a litiginous society and defensive medicine will continue status quo. If the gov't insurance policy won't cover exams/tests performed primarily for defensive reasons, then the physician will have no "protection" from lawsuites and physicians are going to quit. I'm a resident physician who's planning to be set up in the next 5-10 years to be able to find a new career if I need get fed up with the Feds. You drop the financial rewards/incentives from medicine and you'll see how the gov't wont' be able to provide the best health care to everyone. They won't be able to write a law that provides health care to everyone. The ball will then be in our court.
I find it interesting that no one is defending that it's fine to leave the topic of tort reform alone. We live in a litiginous society and defensive medicine will continue status quo. If the gov't insurance policy won't cover exams/tests performed primarily for defensive reasons, then the physician will have no "protection" from lawsuites and physicians are going to quit. I'm a resident physician who's planning to be set up in the next 5-10 years to be able to find a new career if I need get fed up with the Feds. You drop the financial rewards/incentives from medicine and you'll see how the gov't wont' be able to provide the best health care to everyone. They won't be able to write a law that provides health care to everyone. The ball will then be in our court.
I find it interesting that no one is defending that it's fine to leave the topic of tort reform alone. We live in a litiginous society and defensive medicine will continue status quo. If the gov't insurance policy won't cover exams/tests performed primarily for defensive reasons, then the physician will have no "protection" from lawsuites and physicians are going to quit. I'm a resident physician who's planning to be set up in the next 5-10 years to be able to find a new career if I need get fed up with the Feds. You drop the financial rewards/incentives from medicine and you'll see how the gov't wont' be able to provide the best health care to everyone. They won't be able to write a law that provides health care to everyone. The ball will then be in our court.
I also find it interesting no one has an explanation for Dr. Pollard's point that as time has passed the amount of money that the gov't and private insurance is willing to pay for a procedure has decreased. I wish the rest of the business world accept such a model. Life would be a lot easier. And the gentleman who was billed 26,000 for his grand daughter's eye surgeries. I think it's important to make the distinction between a hospital's bill and the physician's bill. The bill may have included the anesthesiologists portion of the surgery, the cost/maintenace of the expensive surgical equipment used to correct her eye problems, paying the nursing staff, and covering other overhhead costs. I'm sure the 26,000 doesn't go directly into the physicians bank account.
Excuse me Dr. Pollard but I am a female pediatrician in the Atlanta area who refers patients to you and will try to do so no more. I work full time, I run a practice and I am sick of male physicians acting like my career doesn't matter and complaining about gender mandates by the government. Your comments at the end of this article were simply not necessary and reflect the same crap I have heard from old male doctors who are bitter about females "taking their spots" in med school. I scored higher grades than my male counterparts, had all the requirements to enter med school and was not helped by gender mandates.You had my support until you added those comments that had NOTHING to do with government health reform at the end. You sound a little bitter.....perhaps you need to work less.
Thanks, Dr. Pollard. Does no one look at the Federal government's track record? Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Postal Service, AmTrack and now Cash for Clunkers are all examples of fiscal failure. It is insanity for any citizen to think the federal government is capable of doing anything to improve health care by running it. Go back and fix what has been an abject failure and then maybe citizens will trust the government to do the right thing with health care reform.
It's amazing that our "learned Senators & Congresional Representatives" spout the rehtoric that they hear from powerful lobbyist (on both sides) without doing their own fact checking. Certainly Congress has the resources to present to the public the factual side of their arguments in the health care debate. It is time for term limits for members of both Houses of Congress.
I am glad you it wrote this letter, maybe it will help other doctors
to stand up for the people also. Good job and do keep up all the
good work you have been doing. Maybe the Senators will have a
look at this sight and realize what a mistake it would be. Vote NO on the Obama Health Plan
From the British Telegraph
www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6018237/Barack-Obama-health-plan-how-US-Right-wing-claims-about-NHS-have-been-answered.html
By Kate Devlin
Published: 9:08PM BST 12 Aug 2009
Allegation: NHS patients over 59 years of age cannot receive heart repairs, stents or bypasses.
Response: A national audit on cardiac surgery showed that one in five of all patients was aged over 75.
Allegation: Women under 25 "not allowed" to be screened for cervical cancer.
Response: Patients in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland regularly screened from the age of 20. In England, women under 25 could be screened if there was judged to be a clinical need.
Allegation: Ted Kennedy, 77, would not be treated for his brain tumour in Britain because he was too old.
Response: "The NHS provides health services on the basis of clinical need irrespective of age," said a Department of Health spokesman.
etc.
Your letter makes perfect sense. I pray medicine in the US does not fall into the hands of the government.
Very disappointing and misleading article by Dr. Pollard. He is too intelligent to have mistakenly included so much factual error. I am a FEMALE pediatrician in private practice in North Carolina, and I have been in practice for 20 years. So sorry to mess up Dr. Pollard's statistics, but I expect to be practicing 20 years from now. We have a very well-functioning Medicaid system in North Carolina and I would rather deal with them than with most of the corrupt private insurance companies in the state. We have a broken health system in the US, and it must be reformed. I AM standing up for my patients by supporting the principles of health care reform as outlined by the Obama Administration. My patients deserve no less.
Thank you, Dr. Pollard. The comments by the female doctors are carry overs from the early libs. As a woman, I know about that because I was there. My suggestion is for the citizens to direct their representatives to prove to us their expertise in health care reform by repairing Medicare, Medicaid and along with that, Social Security. No more push for a new Health Care plan until they prove their abilities under those structures. We will all have serious conversations at election time for each Representative and Senator and the President. The President was quoted by Gibbs at a press session last week on C-Span that if getting his Health Care into Law dropped his ratings and turned the public against him, that he was "fine" with being a one-term President. Isn't that strange? Must be something else going on that he is dumping prospects of a second term for any program that could be delayed or revised to appeal to Americans. Something is wrong besides the Health Care plan.
I would like to know how many people, who have commented on the health care bill, have actually sat down and read the proposals. I have. It seems to me that the proposals are NOT about government-run healthcare, but more about making sure that more people have better options for getting insurance. I personally know of several people who can't get insurance due to cost, do not qualify for medicare nor medicaid, and who must put off having much needed medical care and surgery because they can't afford it. I don't see any physicians lining up to give them free medical care. I myself, who has "wonderful insurance coverage" can't get my private insurance to settle claims in a timely and accurate manner. Sometimes I have to decide if I can afford my child's medication this month or wait until next month, when hopefully, my insurance will decide to reimburse me for my expenses from 3 months ago. Yes, we need insurace reform! This is what the proposal is about, not government-run healthcare.
If the President and Congress want the American people to get on board with this health care plan, they need to put themselves on it as well as the rest of us. If it's so good then they should want this coverage for themselves, right? I agree with those who suggest that we need to fix the programs that are broken before adding more government control to our lives. The proposed plan is too expensive to be enacted right now when we're still reeling from the recession.
way to go dr pollard, so good to have someone stand up for the ordinary folks.
Go Dr Pollard. Keep up the good work.
I really liked the article and would like add clarity to the comments regarding the care for his wife when he was in the Navy.
The care provided for at military health care facilities is always rationed because of limitations of staff, supplies and space. What he didn't say was that when she went home to her doctor in Beverly Hills, the majority of the bill was covered by her military provided health benefits plan: Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS).
CHAMPUS was enacted in Jan 1967 so she was defiantly covered. CHAMPUS, now TRICARE, still remains the avenue for health care reimbursement for military dependents and retirees.
I would like to know who Dr. "av" is. So I can make sure never to take one of my kids to see her if she is more concerned about a comment made in this article than she is about the her patient when she states she will no longer refer them to Dr. Pollard if at all possible.
I am a UK resident, and am somewhat bemused my Dr POllard's belief that the NHS discriminates on the basis of age. My 83 year old father has just left hospital after an operation for a hernia, which would normally be done as day-surgery. He is very fit and otherwise healthy; purely due to his age the surgeon elected to have him stay in hospital overnight. He had minor difficulties urinating following the procedure, so was kept in hospital for a further day until this was resolved. Since coming home he has been visited by a district nurse to check his progress. There was no charge for any of his treatment, for his visits to his GP, or for the pre-op consultations - it was provided free by the NHS. His medication, and that of my 73-year-old mother, who has angina, are provided free, as it would be for anyone over the age of 65. His care was first class, and based entirely on clinical need. And no-one had to fax anyone for permission.
It is time to end the congressional healthcare programs regardless of the outcome of reform. Why are we, the citizens, not able to access the same coverage as our elected leaders. If we can't get on the congressional plan, then that plan should end. If congress pays the same taxes as we, I hope they do despite the recent spat of tax cheats that seem to be all over the administration, I feel better that taxes will be fair. If congress has the same healthcare choices as me, I feel better that the choices will be good. What's good for me, should be good for them.
Dr.Pollard's comments are important and dead on accurate. I am a pediatric ophthalmologist also. I just had a nine year old patient on Medicaid who presented with swollen optic nerves in each eye. Medicaid stated they would need one week to review the case before approving the child for a head CT.
My office spent hours on the phone trying to get approval as swollen optic nerves can be due to intracranial tumors and other emergent conditions. Likewise, this child was suffering from intractable headaches. Not getting anywhere with Medicaid, I told the family to go to the ER as they would do
the Head CT and couldn't turn their child away. The child was found to have obstructive hydrocephalus and underwent emergent neurosurgery the next morning. This is one of many examples of what all families will face with the government deciding when/where/or whether they receive the care their doctor recommends. And unlike with private insurance companies, familes will have no legal recourse.
SD
I find it humorous when individuals demand that our elected officials do something that demonstrates their desire to maintain equality. They are politicians. Their sole job is to get elected and then get reelected! They specialize in: Lying, Cheating and stealing. If you wish for honor and integrity in politicians you might as well ask Charles Manosn to babysit your kids. Our Federal elected officials receive AUTOMATIC pay raises that they gave themselves. They receive pensions, equal to their yearly salary, after having been elected to that office ONCE and FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES. If you are wondering who gave such generous benefits to these people KNOW it wasn't YOU! For those who wish to get on the the congressional health plan you are probably the same people that complained about AIG being bailed out AND I am sure that AIG holding the congressional pension plan had nothing to do with their bail out! When a politician does not answer a direct question directly he is lying.
If I had a doctor for any of my dear children treated by someone like "AV", I'd find a new doctor pronto - anyone who makes decisions on medical referrals based on such emotionally irrational prejudice is not someone I could trust to make rational non-emotional medically sound decisions.
AV, get a life....you are missing the point of this article. It isn't about you or women. I'm a woman and find your response to be emotional which only works against you. Comment on the issue instead of making it personal.
Honey, I think comment was basically a compliment.
My 92 year-old great aunt just underwent cataract surgery in the US. Thank God for the USA!!!!!
Notes & Points:
As for rationing of care in a government plan, my insurance company rations more than 300 drugs RIGHT NOW.
I am sorry that Medicaid rations drugs. But Medicaid is better than nothing for these kids.
As for involving physicians in the health care improvement process, more than 100 years ago someone wrote a book on how to deal with government. The main thesis was: join a pressure group (such as the AMA), or form your own.
Compulsory Health Savings Accounts might be better than a one-payer system. See David Goldhill's article in the September 09 issue of Atlantic Magazine.
As for the reason that Americans become physicians, Dr. Atul Gawande, in the Jun 1, 09 issue of New Yorker magazine contradicts Dr. Pollard. Gawande maintains that when it comes to money, some physicians want little except to balance the books, some want to raise money to help the medical field (an MRI machine in a new clinic?), but the majority are in the profession for the revenue stream.
sdaugh says:Is it something about ophthalmolgists? Dead on accurate? Or straight on lie?
Lie:People in England over 59 cannot
receive stents for their coronary arteries.
l
Truth
Also responding to this assertion was British Health Secretary Andy Burnham, who stated in an email to Dr. Hisham Rana's medical blog:
The Department of Health can confirm that this statement is not true. Access to treatment should be offered on the basis of clinical need. You may be interested to know that a national audit report on cardiac surgery, which has just been published shows that, in the United Kingdom, 20% of all cardiac surgery patients are over 75 years old.
Stents and heart bypass surgery are fully available in the England, as they are and would continue to be in the U.S. It's possible that somehow, somewhere, someone picked up on a possible two-year-old hypothetical recommendation by the British National Institute for Health and Cli
Medicaid is administered by each state individually. The Federal Government funds it but it's up to each State how they spend it. There is no National Medicaid system like Medicare. Medicare is administered federally. Georgia apparently needs to fix their medicaid system.
As to the shortage of physicians, I personally know that this past academic year, New York Medical School had over 11,000 applications for 190 places.
Since it has been found that Dr. Pollard's remark about people in the UK over 59 not being allowed to have stent surgery for coronary artery disease is totally false, I wonder what else he fabricated in his letter to make his point.
BTW - if all doctors would be paid equally, there would be a lot more medical students choosing primary care - and most likely a lot more doctors, not less. Maybe we won't need as many surgeons if we have more good PCPs.
I was a person on medicaid because I have a genetic disorder called " Louis Dietz Syndrome". When I decided that I wanted to go to college to further my knowledge and get a job that I can actually work at, Because of my disability, I am not able to work at 95% of all jobs that are out there. Anyways when I registered for College I was told by MEDICAID that I would no longer be recieving MEDICAID because " If you are able to go to college then you are well enough to get a job according to the MEDCAID people" So now I don't have medicaid because I didn't want to feed off of the system for the rest of my life, I was pentalizied for that choice. I believe that is wrong and a good example of how the MEDICAID system doesn't care about your physical disabilities. All they care about is not have to give assistance to those in need
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