1/3 to 1/2 of doctors may just quit

[karl]

Prior to passage of Obamacare, CNSNews.com reported the results of a Medicus survey published in the NEJM - Nearly one-third of all practicing physicians may leave the medical profession if President Obama signs current versions of health-care reform legislation into law, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.

The survey, which was conducted by the Medicus Firm, a leading physician search and consulting firm based in Atlanta and Dallas, found that a majority of physicians said health-care reform would cause the quality of American medical care to “deteriorate” and it could be the “final straw” that sends a sizeable number of doctors out of medicine.

29.2 percent of the nearly 1,200 doctors who responded to the survey said they would quit the profession or retire early if health reform legislation became law. If a public option were included in the legislation, as several liberal Senators have indicated they would like, the number would jump to 45.7 percent.

The medical journal published the results in its March and April edition, saying: “While a sudden loss of half of the nations physicians seems unlikely, a very dramatic decrease in the physician workforce could become a reality as an unexpected side effect of health reform.”

Kevin Perpetua, managing partner for the Medicus Firm, reported that a reform bill could be “the final straw” in an already financially precarious industry.

“Many physicians feel that they cannot continue to practice if patient loads increase while pay decreases,” Perpetua said in the study.

[Neil D]

why isn't this in the political section?

[Dr. Shane]

Karl has access there.

[karl]

Karl has access there.

When I go to "Forums" which is where I have figured out I can post a "New Topic," the political category is not there. So Townhall is where I have posted new topics. Tell me how to post a new topic in the political section and I will gladly do it. To my knowledge, I only have access to the political threads when they show up in the "Active Topics" section.

[Bravus]

Care to take a bet on it? I'm happy to go with the more conservative (heh) 1/3 figure. If 33% of US physicians resign from the profession, I will happily pay your health insurance for a month. If they don't, you can pay mine for a month. My private is about AU$300 a month for a family of four (it's at a relatively high level of hospital and ancillary (e.g. dental, optical, etc) cover. My public (socialised!!!) is 1.5% of my taxable income, which ends up being about $100 a month. (Of course, that's all Aussie dollars so call it US$370 total.)

How about it? I'm that confident this won't happen, or anything like it.

[Bravus]

(in terms of 'considering the source': "The CNSNews.com (or Cybercast News Service), formerly called the Conservative News Service, is an American news website owned by the Media Research Center." - Wikipedia.)

[Neil D]

Originally Posted By: Shane

Karl has access there.

When I go to "Forums" which is where I have figured out I can post a "New Topic," the political category is not there. So Townhall is where I have posted new topics. Tell me how to post a new topic in the political section and I will gladly do it. To my knowledge, I only have access to the political threads when they show up in the "Active Topics" section.

Go to

Forums

World Affairs

Politics

Once there, ask Shane to help you with posting new topics, but it should be similar to Townhall.

[Bravus]

...aaand "published in the NEJM" is a bit of a stretch:

http://www.nejmjobs.org/rpt/physician-survey-health-reform-impact.aspx

Quote:

On December 17, 2009 The Medicus Firm, a national physician search firm based in Dallas and Atlanta, published the results of a survey they conducted with 1,000 physicians regarding their attitudes toward health reform. To read their survey results at The Medicus Firm website, click here.

The opinions expressed in the article linked to above represent those of The Medicus Firm only. That article does not represent the opinions of the New England Journal of Medicine or the Massachusetts Medical Society.

[Gerr]

I doubt the dire prediction will happen. Ten per cent, maybe.

[karl]

I doubt the dire prediction will happen. Ten per cent, maybe.

How do you think even ten percent quitting would mesh with expanding the availability of healthcare (adding a bunch of workload?)

Is this a typically poorly-thought-out liberal approach? Yes. This is Marxist idiot-ology at its worst.

Destroy what exists and something better will magically evolve. Dude! That's such a great idea! That's planning!

[Dr. Rich]

Interesting post karl. I would not be surprised if the Medical Schools become easier to get into.

[karl]

Interesting post karl. I would not be surprised if the Medical Schools become easier to get into.

Getting a new doctor into practice is a long and expensive proposition. What do we do in the meantime?

[bonnie]

Originally Posted By: Dr. Rich

Interesting post karl. I would not be surprised if the Medical Schools become easier to get into.

Getting a new doctor into practice is a long and expensive proposition. What do we do in the meantime?

Getting new Dr's to accept medicare patient is going to be a challenge I think.

I keep getting explanation of bills for my knee surgery.

The bill for the anesthesiologist was 675.00. Medicare allows payment for only 182.04. Now millions will be added andmassive cuts of 500 billion are in the process.And a reduction in pay to Dr's. How many Dr's are going to keep accepting medicare?

[karl]

Originally Posted By: karl

When I go to "Forums" which is where I have figured out I can post a "New Topic," the political category is not there. So Townhall is where I have posted new topics. Tell me how to post a new topic in the political section and I will gladly do it. To my knowledge, I only have access to the political threads when they show up in the "Active Topics" section.

Go to

Forums

World Affairs

Politics

Once there, ask Shane to help you with posting new topics, but it should be similar to Townhall.

OK

Thanks, Neil

I wasn't seeing the fine print that Politics is a sub-forum of World Affairs.

[Jeannieb43]

I keep getting explanation of bills for my knee surgery.

The bill for the anesthesiologist was 675.00. Medicare allows payment for only 182.04. Now millions will be added and massive cuts of 500 billion are in the process.And a reduction in pay to Dr's. How many Dr's are going to keep accepting medicare?

Most patients have a supplemental insurance which pays the balance not paid by Medicare.

[bonnie]

Quote:

Most patients have a supplemental insurance which pays the balance not paid by Medicare.

I have a supplemental policy.I also have spoken with the insurance agent and have gone over the "explanation of benefits"

Where it states "Allowed Amount" 182.04 the amount typically charged is 675.00.Some states can bill the patient a additional 15% under some policies. In Mn that cannot be done

The balance of 492.96 just goes away. If the balance were paid by supplemental there would not be any reason for Dr's to be taking a hit with every medicare patient.

It clearly states in the explanation that amount exceeds provider allowed payment.Provider cannot bill over the allowed amount

The amount allowed and paid is the total paid by both.

Medicare Supplement Insurance

Medicare supplement insurance (often called Medigap insurance) fills in the gaps between what Medicare pays and what you must pay out-of-pocket for deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments. Medigap policies only pay for services that Medicare deems medically necessary, and payments are generally based on the Medicare-approved charge. Some plans offer benefits that Medicare doesn’t, such as emergency care while in a foreign country.