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Across Mass., wait to see doctors grows
Boston Globe ^ | September 22, 2008 | Liz Kowalczyk

Posted on 09/22/2008 2:35:09 AM PDT by Soliton

The wait to see primary care doctors in Massachusetts has grown to as long as 100 days, while the number of practices accepting new patients has dipped in the past four years, with care the scarcest in some rural areas.

Now, as the state's health insurance mandate threatens to make a chronic doctor shortage worse, the Legislature has approved an unprecedented set of financial incentives for young physicians, and other programs to attract primary care doctors. But healthcare leaders fear the new measures will take several years to ease the shortage.

Senate President Therese Murray, who championed the legislation, said that many of the roughly 439,000 people who obtained health coverage under the 2006 insurance law are struggling to find a doctor. "You can take a look at the whole state and you are not going to find a primary care physician anytime soon," she said in an inter view. "It became apparent very quickly that we needed to do something."

Access to internists and family practitioners is especially difficult in the western counties and on Cape Cod, doctors said, but Boston, too, is feeling the squeeze. Doctors and patient advocates report growing stress for patients trying to get care, and for physicians trying to squeeze them in:

(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; Politics/Elections; US: Massachusetts
KEYWORDS: government; govwatch; healthcare; healthinsurance; lp; socializedmedicine
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Gubmint healthcare doesn't work.
1 posted on 09/22/2008 2:35:09 AM PDT by Soliton
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To: Soliton

Good intentions but...
2 posted on 09/22/2008 2:39:41 AM PDT by ari-freedom (We never hide from history. We make history!)
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To: Soliton

Widely reported throughout the MSM?

I don’t think so.


3 posted on 09/22/2008 2:39:53 AM PDT by markomalley (Extra ecclesiam nulla salus)
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To: ari-freedom

Yeah. Mitt should have known better.


4 posted on 09/22/2008 2:40:32 AM PDT by Soliton (> 100)
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To: markomalley
Widely reported throughout the MSM?

The Globe is a member of the MSM. Let's see what the MSM says today. They will probably blame it on Mitt.

5 posted on 09/22/2008 2:42:32 AM PDT by Soliton (> 100)
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To: Soliton

ok but Mitt is not running for prez or VP


6 posted on 09/22/2008 2:45:09 AM PDT by ari-freedom (We never hide from history. We make history!)
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To: ari-freedom
ok but Mitt is not running for prez or VP

No, but he is a Republican. That's all they need

7 posted on 09/22/2008 2:49:49 AM PDT by Soliton (> 100)
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To: Soliton

Wait a minute.
I definitely remember one of Mass’ most prominent citizens, T boy Kennedy recently fell ill and had GREAT coverage.
Oh, that’s right he went to other states for certain specialists.

Not to worry, the common folks can just ‘shut up’ and follow the lead of the (so called) elitists so long as they realize ‘it is for the common good’.
It is hard to ‘feel sorry’ for those foolz but they keep reelecting the same old, worn out, dead beat pols year after year.

The ONLY message BO has that makes sense is ‘change’ and the first ‘change’ should be him and that butt head running mate of his being sent home....

One ‘change’ the citizenry SHOULD DEMAND, is if you are running for higher office, at least have the decency to resign the position you were elected to.

The people who are most against TERM LIMITS (other than the pols themselves) should sit down and think of the handfull of pols that REALLY P... YOU OFF for their actions/antics and remember with REAL TERM LIMITS, everyone would be gone in a set time.


8 posted on 09/22/2008 2:51:12 AM PDT by xrmusn ( True gun control is hitting what you aim at.)
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To: xrmusn
and remember with REAL TERM LIMITS, everyone would be gone in a set time.

Yeah, the gubmint can force you to wear a seat belt for your own protection, but limiting the incumbency of congress critters is unconstitutional.

9 posted on 09/22/2008 2:59:44 AM PDT by Soliton (> 100)
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To: Soliton
Gubmint healthcare doesn't work.

If only the doctors weren't allowed to leave, or go out of practice, it would. And if not enough doctors live in the state, then some should be forced to move in. If they have to be kept in cells to stop them running away, then that's what Massachusetts will have to do.

And the Underground Railway will run North-to-South next time.

10 posted on 09/22/2008 3:01:37 AM PDT by nina0113 (If fences don't work, why does the White House have one?)
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To: Soliton

But on the bright side, this may also lengthen the survival of Medicare, which is going broke, because many of the elderly will die waiting for medical care. This happens in every country with socialized medicine.
This is a classic case of “be careful what you wish for” because the AARP has been pushing for government health care since its inception.


11 posted on 09/22/2008 3:28:31 AM PDT by kittymyrib
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To: kittymyrib

AARP will make sure that you will still need a private Medigap plan.Which shocking is offered by AARP.


12 posted on 09/22/2008 3:38:49 AM PDT by Dr. Ursus (( commander of the simian host))
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To: Soliton

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.


13 posted on 09/22/2008 3:55:43 AM PDT by RU88 (The false messiah can not change water into wine any more than he can get unity from diversity.)
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To: Soliton
"ok but Mitt is not running for prez or VP"

"No, but he is a Republican. That's all they need"

That's all WHO needs? The media? LOL, are you saying they will blame a REPUBLICAN for signing into law something the left has been clamoring for forever? As if by virtue of his hand touching the bill as he signed it he caused the 100 day waiting period to see a doctor? Sorry, but not even the moron media can spin this as anything but an expected (by any who have a brain) consequence of offering something for nothing. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand the way to get more of something, in this case waiting times for health care is to offer the care for free. Canada and Europe as well as every other nation offering State run health care are perfect examples of this.

14 posted on 09/22/2008 3:56:51 AM PDT by 101voodoo
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To: RU88
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

I get your point, but there are no good intentions in politics. In this case, the road to hell is paved with taxpayer money used for the express purpose of buying votes.

15 posted on 09/22/2008 3:58:23 AM PDT by Soliton (> 100)
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To: Soliton

Allow these jerks to serve ONE term only in the Senate and 2 terms in the House. After that they CANNOT run until the NEXT election after being out of office for 1 term. In that way the people will be able to examine their record and decide if they want to put them back into office based on their accomplishments.


16 posted on 09/22/2008 3:59:56 AM PDT by 101voodoo
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To: Soliton

with care the scarcest in some rural areas.

Then move to the city...there fixed. /sarc


17 posted on 09/22/2008 4:01:22 AM PDT by napscoordinator
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To: 101voodoo
They will credit the democrat legislature for good intentions, but lambaste Mitt for implementing it improperly. They can never admit that gubmint healthcare doesn't work.
18 posted on 09/22/2008 4:04:27 AM PDT by Soliton (> 100)
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To: ari-freedom

Maybe Mitt just left a little reminder of their insanity.


19 posted on 09/22/2008 4:30:39 AM PDT by wolfcreek (I see miles and miles of Texas....let's keep it that way.)
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To: Soliton
Gubmint healthcare doesn't work.

Short of the military, gubmint anything doesn't work. Wherever there is a mess to be found there is a near 100% chance that gubmint plays some role in screwing it up.....

20 posted on 09/22/2008 4:31:52 AM PDT by Thermalseeker (Silence is not always a Sign of Wisdom, but Babbling is ever a Mark of Folly. - B. Franklin)
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