WASHINGTON – The signs are everywhere of an imminent “catastrophic collapse” of the U.S. health-care system that will leave Americans clamoring for medical attention, medical supplies and hospital care, says the former president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.
Dr. Lee Hieb, a practicing orthopedic surgeon and author of a new book called “Surviving the Medical Meltdown,” says the evidence is mounting that Obamacare, or the Affordable Care Act, is making health care scarcer and that the worst is yet to come:
- Shortages of everyday medical supplies – from tetanus toxoid to thyroid, not to mention standard medical equipment – are everyday occurrences now in both urban and rural areas;
- Wait time for routine specialty care is dramatically increasing;
- There are not enough specialists to cover emergency-room calls;
- Hospitals in inner cities and poorer rural regions around the country are closing their doors rather than face economic ruin; and
- It is difficult in some areas to find a primary care physician, especially for Medicare and Medicaid patients.
“Catastrophic collapse due to a ‘doctor death spiral’ will occur when we drop below a critical number of practicing physicians,” Hieb predicts. “As our population ages, it requires more physician man-hours of medical care. But as our population ages, so too do our physicians. More than half of the surgeons who cover emergency rooms are over 50.
Obamacare has brought many more Americans into the insurance pool. Those who formerly could not afford coverage can now qualify for Medical Assistance. But, now that we have all these people covered (which sounds good), the states are cutting Medicaid reimbursements. That means a lot of doctors will stop accepting Medicaid patients and we're right back where we started--poor patients with no access to medical care.
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