People have asked for my take on the President’s “health care summit” last week.
Cautious optimism, for now.
Having all the stakeholders in one room, and apparently, agreeing that something needs to be done, is encouraging.
But, compromises will have to be made, whether it will be the insurance companies, doctors, drug companies, or patients, who will bear the brunt of the sacrifices remains to be seen.
The ACP was there, and Bob Doherty comments on the summit through their lens. I found two of his observations encouraging. The first, is that President Obama “is willing to take on liberal activists, pointedly telling them that they are not going to be able to achieve universal coverage without controlling costs.”
That’s important, because as I have written before, it will be the single-payer groups, such as Physicians for a National Health Program, who will be one of the biggest impediments obstructing any reform effort.
Next, the President made it a point to say, “We have to produce more primary care physicians.”
That is good to hear. Although I certainly believe that mid-level providers will play a critical role in shoring up the primary care ranks, the fact remains, we need more physicians in charge of the medical teams entrusted to care for the millions of patients that will seek health care once they are newly insured. Without access to care, having health insurance is meaningless.
So, in the end, I think the President did and said all the right things. Everyone left the summit smiling and holding hands.
Now, the real work begins, and we’ll see who’s left smiling at the end.
Related posts:
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- 10 President Obama posts you may have missed
- Is President Obama trying to do too much with health reform?
- How President Obama can fix health care immediately
- Medical malpractice reform by President Obama and the White House
- Advice for President Obama’s health care reform plan
- Talking health care reform in Congressional Quarterly and WORLD Magazine
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Perhaps maybe in addition to “producing” more primary care physicians (at least he didn’t call us “providers”), President Obama might look into making sure that . . .
. . . THEY ARE TREATED LIKE HUMANS WITH BASIC CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.
My take on the health-care summit is that it is all a bunch of smoke and mirrors . . . with all of the “right” people in attendance saying all of the right “happy sound bite” things.
Smiling and holding hands is not going to cut it. The government has accepted mediocrity and listened to the “yes-men” and sycophants for too long . . . that’s why we’re in the mess we’re in.
On that note, I am available, at any time, to share with the President and his lovely wife (the well-paid hospital administrator) my experience as a Pediatrician BURNED BADLY in public service.
I hear Governor Bev Perdue will be moderating one of Obama’s meetings in Greensboro, North Carolina on March 31st. I’m looking forward to getting an invitation.
Hah!
It’s amazing to watch physicians be cautiously optimistic as they are marched on toward the end of their independence.
Still nothing’s being said about Tort Reform or the Cost of Defensive Medicine. Color me skeptical but unless the Trial Bar also is made to face the financial music, Obamacare, Hillarycare, whatevercare is doomed to fail. Quid pro quo, Clarice.
What’s to say about it? It’s a state law issue, and there’s no evidence it works to lower costs. With defensive medicine, docs can’t even agree on what it is and it isn’t, so it’s a moot point.
Besides, with where you physicians are heading with Obamacare, it’s not going to matter. It’ll be a workers comp style no-fault system plus there won’t be a need for malpractice claims since people won’t be worried about paying for the care needed as a result of the malpractice.
If you’re still focused on tort “reform” with Obamacare coming down the tracks, then you’ve got no concept of what’s really going to happen anyway.
Memo to Obama: Mr. President, we, the people, hired you to do a job. It’s time to get to work. Passing out budget money to favored constituencies isn’t going to do it. Fix the economy, or there will be no health care.
Better yet, roll back some of the sillier regulations, and get out of our way, we’ll fix it ourselves. At least we know what’s wrong with it.
Obama is in over his head, and healthcare is a distraction. I expect the same careful consideration that shaped the stimulus package to be applied to healthcare, and that ain’t good.
There is an urgent need for action on health care reform, and I was honored to be included at the White House health care summit, representing the AMA and bringing the physicians’ voice to the table. My take-away from the summit is that there is broad recognition from all stakeholders that we cannot let this opportunity slip by – no one is satisfied with the status quo. I pledged to be a constructive partner as we work to provide all Americans with affordable, portable health care coverage. The American Medical Association is committed to reform that covers everyone with a choice of insurance, ensures that patients can choose their health plan and physician, increases the value our nation receives from its health care spending, and enhances prevention and wellness for America’s patients. Just this week, the AMA held its national advocacy conference in Washington, D.C. and hundreds of physicians met with their members of Congress to call for reform. We’re also working to improve the way care is delivered so that the system works better for patients and physicians.
Nancy Nielsen, M.D.
President, AMA
We all know how much hard work is ahead, and we all have suffered through the disappointments and frustrations of past health care reform failures in our individual states as well as nationally. Among our leadership group at the California Academy of Family Physicians, however, we are quite heartened that, after less than two months in office, President Obama has called for increasing the number of primary care physicians. We also are heartened that the AAFP and our other primary care colleagues were invited to this exclusive, high profile summit. Getting to the table is a first important step, and we haven’t always done that effectively in the past – and, if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu. We know the benefits of primary care and the patient-centered medical home – improved health for our patients and decreased costs for our health care system. Now it’s up to us to stay at the table and fight effectively for the health care changes we want.
Carla Kakutani, MD, Past President
http://www.familydocs.org/blogs/fp-forum
1) Dr. Johnson, Obama doesn’t recognize the legitimacy of the U.S. Constitution. Most polititians don’t, anymore. So forget about basic constitutional rights.
2) Mr Dohert and the ACP do not represent physicians in the trenches. They will do anything for a seat at the table, even if poison is on the menu.
3) Not all pertinent players were at the summit. The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons was not there – not even invited. This is the group that was primarily responsible for blocking HillaryCare in 1994. And we’re still around. I support AAPS with my dues, not ACP or the AMA.
Why are we going, hat in hand, to ask for what we want from the government? It’s our field, not theirs, and we should be making the changes we want ourselves. Government interference and our over-reliance on poorly funded programs have brought us to where we are now. It seems that our best option is to cut away, and let Medicare and Medicaid plummet, as they deserve to. We owe these programs nothing. We are doctors, not government employees, and as such, it is time to turn away from the diminishing trickle of funding and find our own patients. That will be the savior of primary care, not more government intervention.
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