MY TURN: Health Reform Is Job-Killing
Friday, January 28, 2011 at 8:37AM By Dr. Michael A. Glueck
Up front I should note that I am a retired physician and have no monetary reasons or other incentives to write this comment. I mean, other than I am now a patient (with increasing frequency) and have some incentives to stay alive.
Physicians warn that the ill effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will be irreversible, and it needs to be repealed and not funded before implementation proceeds any further.
One serious consequence is that the bill is deemed to be job killing. Newport Beach, as well as the rest of California, can’t afford to lose any more jobs.
On Jan. 19, the House voted 245-189 to repeal the law. But that is not expected to make it out of Senate, and if it does it faces a certain presidential veto.
In fairness, some experts say that the bill will “not necessarily” kill jobs.
“What if your doctor told you that a radical, unprecedented operation would ‘not necessarily’ kill you?” asked Dr. Jane Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS).
Some politicians have presented many ways in which PPACA could damage the economy. Is “not knowing” whether they are right a reason to steam ahead with implementing a law that will undoubtedly have an enormous impact on one-sixth of the economy?
One reason it is impossible to know all the consequences is that all the rules have not yet been written. Much of the bill does not even take effect until 2014.
Businesses cannot prudently plan to expand without knowing what rules they will be required to follow. Moreover, the rules so far have been so onerous that hundreds are lining up to request waivers—which are likely to be granted, or not, based on political influences.
Surveys have shown that close to half of physicians may respond by restricting or closing their practices entirely. Would they really do this? Before the National Health Service was enacted, England had 44,000 doctors. By 1971, it had only 17,000. One-third of Texas physicians have already opted out of Medicare.
Organized medicine is telling doctors that small practices probably won’t be able to afford the vastly increased compliance requirements. Thus, they are urged to form “accountable care organizations” (ACOs) in order to survive. Their “incentives” are designed to restrict access to expensive care. They don’t have bureaucratic death panels; they just reward doctors who save money for the Plan.
We should continue to fight this onerous bill and then we need to discuss how to solve our problems in medicine instead of making them worse.
Reader Comments (1)
Nice post Thank you for sharing