Posted on 03/17/2010 4:48:51 PM PDT by Kaslin
Health Overhaul: We were harshly criticized last September for an IBD/TIPP Poll that showed 45% of doctors would consider leaving medicine if a health care takeover passed. A new poll has vindicated our findings.
Our questionnaire went out Aug. 28 to some 25,600 doctors nationwide. Of that substantial sample, we got 1,476 responses. One hundred of those were retired, leaving 1,376.
At the time, virtually no one had stopped to ask doctors how they felt about the medical takeover being discussed in Congress. We thought it was vital to ask them, since any overhaul would rise or fall on its implementation by doctors themselves.
To say we were stunned with the results is an understatement.
Of the physicians queried, 45% said they'd consider closing their practice or retiring early if the overhaul then being considered were enacted. Also, 65% said they opposed the government's attempts at taking over the health care system. Just 33% supported it.
Given that the White House and Congress both promised then — as they do now — to provide health care coverage for 31 million new patients while at the same time cutting costs from the $2.4 trillion a year we spend on medical care, we thought it was important to reveal that doctors wouldn't go along with it.
What we found was that of the 800,000 physicians practicing in the U.S. in 2006, as many as 360,000 might leave the profession. So with the proposed overhaul, we'd be trying to cover 31 million more patients with up to 45% fewer doctors.
Impossible. It can't be done.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
I honestly think this story is bogus. I think most Doctors wouldn’t quit medicine. They might quit the Obama-Care program though, and insist on being paid in cash at whatever rate is agreed upon by doctor and patient.
That would mean doctors leaving Medicare and Medicaid, and you might have to pay them with cash or credit cards.
This is from a 2007 contact list of congressional aides. Some might not be there any longer, but worth a try.
Contact congressional aides.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1857768/posts
U.S. Senate switchboard: (202) 224-3121
U.S. House switchboard: (202) 225-3121
White House comments: (202) 456-1111
Find your House Rep.: http://www.house.gov/writerep
Find your US Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Toll free to the US Senate:
1-800-882-2005. (Spanish number)
1-800-417-7666. (English number)
Courtesy of a pro-amnesty group, no less!!
Defeat Obamacare call list: List now contains the new MAYBES culled from FR posts. Be sure to call KNOWN RINOS too.THEY ARE ANSWERING THEIR LOCAL NUMBERS
Here is one of the ones Rush gave out on the radio that I’m calling. So far it’s been busy but I’m going to burn it up till I get to tell my congress critter to vote NO!
Join me?..... 1-877-762-8762
KEEP THE CALLS UP! DC OFFICE LOCAL OFFICE
CODE RED Contact list http://www.nrcc.org/CodeRed/targets/
Remember they are all being offered BRIBES for their votes. Ask them how much their bribe price is.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has published a target list on health care. In addition to continuing to contact the five Tennessee Democrat Congressmen, you can go http://www.votervoice.net/link/clickthrough/ext/94697.aspx to contact some of these targets. Much of the talk following Obama’s announcement has focused on how to defeat this second bill through reconciliation, but that is misleading because the first step to defeating Obamacare is not by concentrating on defeating the “fixer” bill but by defeating the Senate bill in the House when it goes to the floor for an up-or-down vote on Thursday, March 18th.
New FLIPPERS
Dennis Kucinish, Lakewood 216)228-8850, Fax (216)228-6465,
Parma. 440)845-2707, Fax (440)845-2743, DC (202)225-5871
Fax (202)225-5745
James Oberstar (202) 225-6211, Duluth (218) 727-7474, Chisholm (218) 254-5761, Brainerd (218) 828-4400, North Branch, (651) 277-1234
Rep. Lincoln Davis 202-225-6831 Columbia office: 931-490-8699
Rep. Jim Cooper 202-225-4311 Nashville office: 615-736-5295
Rep. Bart Gordon 202-225-4231 Murfreesboro office: 615-896-1986
John Tanner (202) 225-4714, Union City, (731) 885-7070, Jackson Phone: (731) 423-4848, Millington (901) 873-5690 TN (MAYBE)
Rep. Steve Cohen 202-225-3265 Memphis office: 901-544-4131
Harry Mitchell (202) 225-2190 (480) 946-2411 AZ 5th District
Gabrielle Giffords (202) 225-2542 (520) 881-3588 AZ 8th District
Ann Kirkpatrick (202) 225-2315 (928) 226-6914 AZ 1st District
Jerry McNerney (202) 225-1947 925-833-0643 CA 11th District
John Salazar 202-225-4761 970-245-7107 CO 3rd District
Jim Himes (202) 225-5541 (866) 453-0028 CT 4th District
Alan Grayson (202) 225-2176 (407) 841-1757 FL 8th District
Bill Foster (202) 225-2976 630-406-1114 IL 14th District
Baron Hill 202 225 5315 812 288 3999 IN 9th District
Mark Schauer (202) 225-6276 (517) 780-9075 MI 7th District
Gary Peters (202) 225-5802 (248) 273-4227 MI 9th District
Dina Titus (202) 225-3252 702-256-DINA (3462) NV 3rd District
Carol Shea-Porter (202) 225-5456 (603) 743-4813 NH 1st District
Tim Bishop (202) 225-3826 (631) 696-6500 NY 1st District
John Hall (202) 225-5441 (845) 225-3641 x49371 NY 19th District
Bill Owens (202) 225-4611 (315) 782-3150 NY 23rd District
James Matheson Toll-Free Number 1 (877) 677-9743 (202) 225-3011Mike Arcuri (202)225-3665 (315)793-8146 NY 24th District
Dan Maffei (202) 225-3701 (315) 423-5657 NY 25th District
Earl Pomeroy (202) 225-2611 (701) 224-0355 ND At-Large District
Steven Driehaus (202) 225-2216 (513) 684-2723 OH 1st District
Mary Jo Kilroy (202) 225-2015 (614) 294-2196 OH 15th District
Zach Space (202) 225-6265 (330) 364-4300 OH 18th District
Kathy Dahlkemper (202) 225-5406 (814) 456-2038 PA 3rd District
Patrick Murphy (202) 225-4276 (215) 826-1963 PA 8th District
Christopher Carney (202) 225-3731 (570) 585-9988 PA 10th District
Paul Kanjorski (202) 225-6511 (570) 825-2200 PA 11th District
John Spratt (202) 225-5501 (803)327-1114 SC 5th District
Tom Perriello (202) 225-4711 (276) 656-2291 VA 5th District
Alan Mollohan (202) 225-4172 (304) 623-4422 WVA 1st District
Nick Rahall (202) 225-3452 (304) 252-5000 WVA 3rd District
Steve Kagen (202) 225-5665 (920) 437-1954 WI 8th District
Bart Stupak (202) 225 4735 MI (MAYBE)
Brian Baird (202) 225-3536, Vancouver, (360) 695-6292. Olympia, (360) 352-9768, (MAYBE)
senator mark begich (202) 224-3004 toll free. (877) 501 - 6275 just became a MAYBE
Jason Altmire 202-225-2565, Aliquippa, 724-378-0928,
Natrona Heights, 724-226-1304 (MAYBE)
On the Bubble (Major developments from the “yes” and “no” columns in the House)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2467046/posts
Congressional Dems on Twitter
http://www.arrghpaine.com/congressional-dems-on-twitter
And here are toll-free numbers we can use to call any Senators or Reps.
At the first number below you must wait through a tape recording urging you to tell your Rep or Senator to vote “yes” for the health care bill. Just hang on and when the recording is over, you will get the Capitol operator. Just ask for your Rep or Senator’s office. Then you will either talk to an aid or have the chance to leave a message for him/her to vote NO on the health care bill.
When you use the second number and the Capitol operator comes on, just ask for your Rep or Senator’s office. Every time I use this number I get the Rep or Senator’s answer machine, so it may be set up that way all the time...to go to their answer machine. Either way you can leave a message to vote NO on the health care bill!
We need to use these toll free numbers that have been set up for the health care/ BO supporters and illegals to use! After all they are FREE!
1-866-220-0044, 1-866-338-1015, 877-851-6437, 877-210-5351
Providers that do now accept assignment with Medicare can bill you up to 15% above what Medicare allows. That still doesn’t make up for the 21% decrease that Medicare allows for providers that went into effect last March 1st.
now = not
About 15 years ago, in Massachusetts, the state made physician participation in Medicaid mandatory. In other words, if the doctors did not agree to accept "assignment" (take a certain percentage of Medicaid patients), they could not be licensed. No license, no practice.
Lots of doctors left Mass. under these conditions.
I don't know if this law is still in effect or not but the precedent does exist to do this.
That would mean doctors leaving Medicare and Medicaid, and you might have to pay them with cash or credit cards.
I think it's wishful thinking to believe that doctors are going to be allowed to simply go to a cash-only model. The out-of-control congress will simply draw up laws making it a criminal offense to offer services outside the system.
If I'm not mistaken, Hillary-care back in 1994 made it illegal for doctors to treat anyone outside the government system. It also made it illegal for doctors to choose what specialties they wanted, or where they could practice medicine, if I recall correctly.
I haven't read the rest of the comments so maybe this was covered. I think that you are right and that some of these doctors will just move out of the U.S. down to Central America (particularly Costa Rica) and set up shop for those Americans able and willing to pay for services.
Oops, didn’t notice that there were but a few comments.
The Oldest Doctors can probably afford to quit.
Medical School applications will fall through the floor, so the supply of fresh blood into the profession will dry up.
Young doctors will consider their alternatives, and some will quit for more lucrative opportunities.
Net: Slow strangulation of supply.
Reduced supply results in increased costs (remember Econ 101?)
Increased Demand (30,000,000 newly insured) also increases costs (Econ 101 again).
So where do you think costs are going to go?
Through the roof of course!
Au contraire!
I personally plan to open that quilt shop I have always wanted if Obamacare passes. You would be surprised the number of early retirements and career changes that Obamacare would spark!
I believe that Hilary!-Care included criminal penalties for doctors who went outside the system.
“...you might have to pay them with cash or credit cards...”
The pending “healthcare overhaul” might make it illegal to do so.
(???)
IMHO
Donning my tinfoil hat here. I’m envisioning the federal government bringing in a lot of “doctors” from Third World countries to practice here. Of course, these “doctors” would not be allowed to go into private practice - they would become government employees, paid for by our taxes.
I can guarantee that 50% of docs will stop seeing Medicare patients with the $500 billion cut that Obama and the democrasts want.
As a matter of fact, try getting any top doctor to see a Medicare patient NOW.
Doctors who accept assignment must accept what Medicare allows. Medicare pays the doctor 80% of the allowed amount and the doctor must collect the 20% balance from the patient. Doctors who do NOT accept assignment are allowed to charge 115% of the allowed Medicare amount, but gets nothing directly from Medicare, and has to collect the entire amount from the patient. The patient is reimbursed from Medicare the 80% of the allowed amount, and may or may not pay it (along with the 35% balance owed) to the physician. That is why most physicians accept assignment. They are guaranteed at least 80% of the allowed charge. Usually the allowed charge is about 75% of the regular charge and the physician gets paid significantly less than from insurance companies. For example, an insurance company may pay $90 on a $100 charge. Medicare allows $75 and pays the doctor accepting assignment $60 and the doctor may or may not be successful in collecting the other $15 from the patient. This is why almost 40% of doctors no longer accept new Medicare patients.
As for myself, I planned to retire in 4 years, but if Obamacare passes, I will retire immediately. There are many doctors out there much younger than myself who can go into a variety of non-clinical medical professions or even non-medical fields. I read recently of a physician who made significantly more selling clothing on ebay than she made seeing patients. There are many entrepenurial opportunites for bright motivated people, and I would not be surprised to see a mass exodus of physicians if Obamacare passes.
As for the March 1 21% decrease, we have been granted a stay of execution until October 1, when it will take place, unless congress passes something to the contrary.
John Galt is alive and well.
yup that’s right ! global medicine/s
Imagine how the standards of doctors will drop as the best and brightest choose other more lucrative professions.
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