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45% Of Doctors Would Consider Quitting If Congress Passes Health Care Overhaul
Investor's Buisiness Daily ^ | 15 Sep 2009 | Terry Jones

Posted on 09/17/2009 12:34:23 PM PDT by Admiral_Zeon

Two of every three practicing physicians oppose the medical overhaul plan under consideration in Washington, and hundreds of thousands would think about shutting down their practices or retiring early if it were adopted, a new IBD/TIPP Poll has found.

The poll contradicts the claims of not only the White House, but also doctors' own lobby — the powerful American Medical Association — both of which suggest the medical profession is behind the proposed overhaul.

It also calls into question whether an overhaul is even doable; 72% of the doctors polled disagree with the administration's claim that the government can cover 47 million more people with better-quality care at lower cost.

The IBD/TIPP Poll was conducted by mail the past two weeks, with 1,376 practicing physicians chosen randomly throughout the country taking part. Responses are still coming in, and doctors' positions on related topics — including the impact of an overhaul on senior care, medical school applications and drug development — will be covered later in this series.

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


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: doctors; healthcare; obamacare; sniff; sniff40
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To: Admiral_Zeon
Photobucket
61 posted on 09/17/2009 1:48:17 PM PDT by kara2008 (The Answer to 1984 is 1776)
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To: Doctor Don

Dead wrong about what?

Look, if the system was doing so well, there wouldn’t be talk about change, and that is not the case. The debate is in what to change and to what extent. Is the coming change going to be good, probably not, but come on, 50% attrition? Get a grip! And even if there is, quite frankly, I have gotten better information and care from those Indians and Pakistanis than from the American ones anyway. I’ll just pray the one I see is not the bomb-toting-terrorist... lol

Lots of folks on this board have been saying for years, the gov debt is no problem, massive imports are no problem, and sending jobs overseas is no problem. Hey, lets take this to the logical conclusion and complete the globalization of our once great country and become just like the rest of the world, socialism and all (like we weren’t already). Why hold back now?


62 posted on 09/17/2009 1:53:34 PM PDT by DonaldC (A nation cannot stand in the absence of religious principle.)
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To: VirginiaMom
My doctor has already told me if this passes she will be retiring. She’s a wonderful doctor that I’ve been going to for over 15 years. I’d hate to lose her, but totally understand her decision.

Ditto with my doctor. He's in his 50s and he says it won't be worth the hassle anymore if he can't make any money at it.

My boss at work has a doctor who was engaged to a French doctor. He says the doctor can't make any money in France so, on the weekends, he drives to Italy and does freelance medicine on Italian patients in order to make ends meet.

63 posted on 09/17/2009 1:59:11 PM PDT by OrangeHoof (YES WE CAN have a Depression.)
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To: DonaldC
Well, if that many can afford to quit or retire, maybe Obama is not such a bad guy.

Out of 800,000 practicing doctors, about 25% of them are past the age of retirement. They continue to work because they feel that they have an obligation to their communities.

In reality, the overhead for doctors is large. IF you cut their pay, many would feel obligated to leave their profession rather than cut into their retirements to keep practicing.

Realistically, you'd lose 100-150k doctors within a year.

You think waiting to see a doc is bad now? Wait until their are 150k few docs and millions more people who now view not just the ER as "free care" but YOUR doctor as same.

Congress cannot repeal the law of supply and demand. Even if they really really, truly truly, for sure want to do so. Maybe we need more Congressmen that understand that.
64 posted on 09/17/2009 2:00:23 PM PDT by ziravan (FReeper for Congress: www.TimothyforCongress.com)
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To: ziravan

“Out of 800,000 practicing doctors, about 25% of them are past the age of retirement.”

So basically, the dems are accelerating a problem that was going to happen anyway. That’s an interesting statistic.


65 posted on 09/17/2009 2:05:46 PM PDT by DonaldC (A nation cannot stand in the absence of religious principle.)
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To: CaliforniaCon
My wife works in the health care field and has noticed that it is getting harder and harder to keep doctors on the staff at the hospital. Many are not so much retiring, but cutting the number of patients they see. IOW do the minimum they need to keep their lifestyle going, and no more.

Another manner in which the semi-retire is to go into health management or consulting. IOW they sell their expertise to the lawyers and the insurance companies. The base pay is a lot less, but after getting rid of the costs associated with the practice and malpractices insurance the net pay isn't that much lower. And the job is 9-5 with weekends off.
66 posted on 09/17/2009 2:08:19 PM PDT by GonzoGOP (There are millions of paranoid people in the world, and they are all out to get me.)
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To: Cosimo de Medici
No, they'll look at their being forced to work below cost, their malpractice premiums, the reams of extra paperwork, and move to another country to practice medicine.

Or become "consultants" to the red-tape industry.

Nice try, troll.

67 posted on 09/17/2009 2:08:54 PM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
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To: grey_whiskers

I wonder what countries would offer anything not already socialized?


68 posted on 09/17/2009 2:14:38 PM PDT by DonaldC (A nation cannot stand in the absence of religious principle.)
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To: DonaldC
So basically, the dems are accelerating a problem that was going to happen anyway. That’s an interesting statistic.

NO. The current system is based on a percentage of doctors that stay well past retirement out of: charity. Yes, many make good money in retirement but they stay because the rightly believe that many people depend upon them. Charity and forced entitlement are 2 very different things. Obamalamacare is going to change that, and with it, the real number of practicing docs. Instead of those docs leaving by attrition as new docs come on-line, they will head for the gates in a stampede like an 9th inning Grand Slam by the opposing team.

Your logic is faulty.
69 posted on 09/17/2009 2:15:06 PM PDT by ziravan (FReeper for Congress: www.TimothyforCongress.com)
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To: DonaldC

And those new docs that will eventually begin to practice? Under Obamalamacare, their specialties and numbers will be chosen by central planners. Here’s hoping you don’t need a Neurosurgeon or Open Heart Surgery in the 5-6 yrs after the central planners goof that supply.

Oops. No Surgery for YOU.


70 posted on 09/17/2009 2:19:13 PM PDT by ziravan (FReeper for Congress: www.TimothyforCongress.com)
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To: ziravan

Where have you read that?


71 posted on 09/17/2009 2:21:02 PM PDT by DonaldC (A nation cannot stand in the absence of religious principle.)
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To: ziravan

“Your logic is faulty. “

That may be, but is sure sounds like a system tittering on the edge to me.


72 posted on 09/17/2009 2:23:32 PM PDT by DonaldC (A nation cannot stand in the absence of religious principle.)
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To: DonaldC

“So basically, the dems are accelerating a problem that was going to happen anyway. That’s an interesting statistic.”

It’s not quite that simple. Most doctors I know are fairly frugal and save as much as they can to retire. By age 55, they have their nest egg put away but find that it is difficult to leave their practice. Most of their friends are there. Frequently they will work as long as they are physically and mentally able. Not because they need to work but because they like to work.

If you Obama wants to make the doctors the enemy, screw with reimbursement and increase already heavy patient loads, there are many docs that are in the position to say screw it and walk away.

Replacement doctors numbers have been calculated based on estimated need and estimated physician retirement age. If you increase demand by making it free and ecourage physicians to retire combined with the aging demographics.....


73 posted on 09/17/2009 2:26:31 PM PDT by dangerdoc (dangerdoc (not actually dangerous any more))
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To: Admiral_Zeon

I know a doc who retired early several years ago over the pay rate in an HMO.

I’m afraid we’ll lose a bunch of them if this goes through.


74 posted on 09/17/2009 2:26:49 PM PDT by Califreak (If it's Astroturf, why are you trying to mow it?(sign seen at a town hall meeting))
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To: GonzoGOP

I worked for health insurance companies for many years. Yes, physicians worked regular hours, had no emergencies, and no administrative hassles to deal with.

Some docs become expert witnesses in various legal cases, commanding large fees for little actual work.

So yes, many doctors are doing or will do a lot less but still keep their lifestyles pretty much up to par. Most of the internists, and especially specialists, I know (and respect) here in Los Angeles are doing extremely well financially and love their work, but would bail in a second if this Obama nightmare comes to pass.

How exactly is Zero going to force doctors to stay in practice? If he tries fines/penalties, I think we will see a lot of ‘disability’ retirements taking place.


75 posted on 09/17/2009 2:32:17 PM PDT by CaliforniaCon
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To: ridesthemiles

oh the irony!!


76 posted on 09/17/2009 2:39:16 PM PDT by CatQuilt (Lover of cats =^..^= and quilts)
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To: Admiral_Zeon

Yep, you know how annoying it is when you can’t understand the person taking your order at the fast food drive thru.....wait till you get your 5 mins with the foreign doctor that just replaced your doctor and you can’t understand a word they say!


77 posted on 09/17/2009 2:44:55 PM PDT by jackieh
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To: Admiral_Zeon
obamma will force the doctors to work! They cannot quit! If they don't work or if they quit, they will be prosecuted and sent to prison, for a crime that obamma has not yet thought of yet.

And they will need to see more patients at less pay.

Their time of raking in the money at the feeding trough is coming to an end.

78 posted on 09/17/2009 2:47:14 PM PDT by rawhide
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To: Two Kids' Dad

It will never happen as obamma is a lawyer and understands their need for money, lots of it.


79 posted on 09/17/2009 2:48:14 PM PDT by rawhide
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To: SandWMan

he will bring in his own brand of Doctors to shake rattles and chant over patients....


80 posted on 09/17/2009 2:49:37 PM PDT by Vaquero ("an armed society is a polite society" Robert A. Heinlein)
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