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Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Why My Doctor Hates Obamacare

Lawmakers in D.C. may truly be committed to improving America's health-care system. But according to actual physicians, our leaders are going about it all wrong.

Want real health reform that is in the interest of you and your family? Don't make the same mistake that Washington did. In formulating ObamaCare, the politicians listened to lobbyists, policy wonks, academics, health theorists, regulators, and occasionally to each other.

But they failed to listen to the people who actually care for patients: Doctors. Granted, the lobbyists for physician groups were at the table, but not the doctor him or herself. Ironic, isn't it? Especially when it's the doctor who has the daily responsibility of directly caring for the patient.

Go ahead, ask your physician at your next visit what she or he thinks of current Washington-directed reform and its impact on the doctor-patient relationship. What you hear will likely surprise you, because it will likely be markedly different from what you hear from Washington. The policy theorists are simply too far removed from the reality of front-line patient care. Health reform, whether via the implementation of ObamaCare or the GOP's "repeal and replace" plan, should no longer ignore the input and counsel of experienced, front-line, practicing doctors.

Here is a sampling of what my own internist, who has taken care of thousands of patients over the past 20 years, shared with me:

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

My doctor is totally against it. Yet she does believe the system needs changing but not the way it is going to change and the way they House and Senate) went about changing it. She has been my doctor for almost 20 years, so I trust her opinion.

Anonymous said...

I have talked with one of my doctors about this. His daughter and son-in-law, both doctors, are leaving their practices and goint in to academia due to Obamacare. I might add these are people of the Democratic persuasion, and they know this is the wrong way to go!!

Anonymous said...

Our doctor is against it also. He doens't think he should have to document and send to the federal government all patient information including treatment options and then have the govt bureaucrats "recommend" treatment.
There is no sugar coating and Sarah Palin was right. These bureaucrats are nothing more than Death Panels.
I can not believe some people actually support Obamacare. Someone's health issues (including the treatment they receive) should be between that person and their doctor. Why would anyone in their right mind want the govenment dictating what treatment options they can receive?

Anonymous said...

I work in a large practice with 75% of our patients being Medicare age. If Obamacare stands, physicians all over the country will have to cap the number of patients they take with Medicare in order to keep their practices from going bankrupt. This will mean that people will be unable to find physicians to care for them when they get to retirement age when they need care the most because the Medicare cap limits for most physicians will be filled.