Posted on 05/18/2010 5:51:03 AM PDT by Fawn
We are a military family, and almost all of the primary care doctors at our family health clinic are from Pakistan, India, etc.
The list, ping
TX ping.
This is exactly what the liberal/socialists want...
This is very troubling —but not surprising to me. What will be worse is the doctor shortage down the line, when an MD cannot earn enough to pay back all the loans he took out for his education—if in fact, anyone will loan money to a medical school attendee.
Exactly...........what about medicaid though? Why aren’t Dr.s stopping acceptance of these freeloaders? Medicaid is the problem...not medicare.
Any way you slice it, we’re screwed.
Sad, but true—at least until something turns around.
Well, by the looks of the political climate now, I think a lot of dems will be out of office in Nov.
Obomma lied; Seniors died.
You miss the biggest issue. Tort reform.
The single largest component of healthcare is liability insurance. This accounts for 80% of the cost of healthcare.
Tort reform in Texas and Florida reduced medical spending by 30%, the last time I saw the numbers.
Well, you mentioned instituting nationwide high-risk pools—presumably, this is something the government would be starting, since I really don’t see insurance companies of their own volition doing it.
Tax benefits should not exist for anyone (I suppose that is equalizing them in the sense that it is wiping them out).
All federal regulations on healthcare should be abolished.
The natural outcome of the above would be to “make healthcare individual centric not business centric”. I assumed, since you listed it separately, that you wanted the government to make this so.
Of course, it would also cut deeply into the health insurance business because you would not use health insurance for anything but the truly catastrophic. You wouldn’t use health insurance for a general practitioner any more than you use auto insurance for an oil change.
You version sounded like a less-restricted, but not free-market. Sorry if I misunderstood.
Yep, I can hear the campaign stump speeches now about evil profiteering doctors not willing to treat comrades for free.
We have no entered down the slippery slope of health care being a, “right”. If a senior citizen cannot obtain health care because no physician will take their insurance, are their rights being violated? Can they sue the government for human rights violation?
The only way you can guarantee equal health care for all is to offer one method of reimbursement to physicians, i.e. the government, and withhold that reimbursement from physicians who will not follow the governmental rules and regulations.
Physicians practicing outside the scope of govt run health care will be legislated against, fined and ultimately imprisoned. You cannot create a system of the haves and have nots without violating someone’s right to health care so you must destroy any other means of obtaining care outside of govt provided care so as to preserve human rights.
Physician’s will opt out of practicing medicine in the US all together and the government will again have to step in and pay for college for anyone wanting to become a physician. Quality will fall as the best and brightest will choose different career paths and the ‘C’ students will be the ones treating your illness. Good luck with that.
The rich will simply fly out to Costa Rica for quality medical care and the rest of us will see a steadily declining life expectancy, which will, in the end, be blamed on President Bush....or some other Republican.
No one has a right to health care. We have an obligation to help our fellow man but not at the expense of our own freedoms and livelihood. When that obligation becomes a mandate, we are no longer free men, but slaves. Mandating that someone operate at a loss is nothing more than slavery.
Funny how those who feel the physicians are out of line by not working at a loss are they very ones who cry foul if their wages were cut...that is, if they even have a job.
All part of the plan. Good Doctors, or those capable of being doctors, will do something else. What percentage of the GNP is our health system and with its collapse, how many of those in the lower class receiving free health care now will be willing to riot?
Tort reform would also be in the Top 10.
Nationwide high risk pools - the government’s job would be to take away the prohibition enacted presently as it can not happen with statutes currently in place. The government would ‘manage’ nothing.
Tax benefits - if companies are to have them then so should individuals. If not, then neither should have them. Equalize the tax treatment foe ALL taxpayers.
You assume a lot! The individual should be the drive of health care not companies. The policy once obtained should stay with the individual where ever he/she may go. As it is you get a new healthcare policy (and premiums) with different employers. Being owned and tied to the individual is the key.
Using your healthcare when seeing a GP/Primary Care Physician depends on the policy and individual purchases. some may want it, others may not. However, thinking logically, it makes more sense to use an insurance benefit when seeing a GP/Primary Care Physician but doesn’t make sense on an oil change for your car. You can change you own damn oil, if you choose ... I would not same the same for health issue. Treating yourself makes no sense.
Many of these things did exist ... back in the ‘dark ages’ of the pre-50’s or pre-60’s. The governmental did ‘manage’ health care and it thrived. Government involvement killed healthcare and drove up costs.
Removing the federal blockage of not selling across state boundaries is a boon for the companies. Blue Cross & Blue Shield have 46 or so companies who provide health care in different states (some shut due to bankruptcy). Just think if the ‘pool’ of insureds was multiplied by all citizens (not just one State’s citizens or one companies employees). Just think if this was applied to all insurance selling. Competition between companies would increase, and companies would start rethinking how they write policies. Plus more items would be covered as part of your policy.
Now there is still the problem of overcharging. Possibly on the premiums but I really think not. More likely the over charging would still be between the providers and the insurance company. However if policy holders started getting more bills over an above co-pays and co-insurance ... then they might change companies.
Individual centric would allow that and insurance companies would have a new paradigm to be writing to.
We have a dentist in our area that has done this for years! He has no office staff, does all his own appointment scheduling, etc. He does take smaller emergencies like most other general practice dentists do. He has a small, clean, efficient office, etc.. I suppose if he ran into problems with someone, he sends them to another dentist, or to the hospital, or something. But he’s managed to do it all mostly by himself!
True, he probably doesn’t do any heavy surgical stuff. If he has a patient who needs it, he refers them to dentists with surgical specialties in bigger clinics with staff to help them.
He keeps his costs down that way! I do know that he doesn’t take Medicaid, but he does take other insurances. He may take Medicare, but I don’t know. He doesn’t charge any more than other GP dentists, (maybe a little less because of his low overhead) and makes reasonable arrangements w/people who self-pay.
He probably uses a private billing/accounting service, and as I said, his own appointments/messaging like the doctor you mention! There may be others in the state who do that, but he’s the only one I know of!
Pretty much going to do away with that as well...Why not???
The third world countries need their own doctors and I think the US would be crazy to think they could expect to recruit enough of them...just wait until the third world docs are barred by their own countries from leaving!
Obomma lied; Seniors died!
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