Friday, September 18, 2009

ObamaCare Makes Doctors Sick: 45% Consider Quitting

Physician opposition to ObamaCare hasn't gotten much press coverage in the last 5 months of heavy promotion by the Obama administration and Democrat-held Congress.

Obama managed to gain an endorsement for much of his health care "reform" from the AMA , a group that represents a mere 18% of American physicians, but the news that the AMA never endorsed the "public option" got buried in the pro-ObamaCare hullabaloo.

The Obama press propaganda machine have not been eager to tell people that their doctors--whom people trust with their lives--don't think ObamaCare will work as promised.

On September 10, physicians and other medical professionals from all over the U.S. tried to get the word out with a rally in Washington, DC, to petition lawmakers to defend patients from unnecessary bureaucratic intervention in health care. Interesting photo-journal coverage of this event is posted at Looking at the Left. (Give the site plenty of time to load.)
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons came to D.C. to present a petition from doctors to lawmakers. The AAPS has been a voice for private physicians since 1943. Their motto is Omani pro aegroto, “all for the patient”. The doctors met with the representatives from their respective states and argued for a platform that avoids unnecessary bureaucratic intervention in health care.
On Wednesday, Investor's Business Daily ran front-page coverage of the results of a recent IBD/TIPP poll of physicians and found that 45% of doctors would consider quitting if Congress passes the Democrat proposed health care overhaul:
Two of every three practicing physicians oppose the medical overhaul plan under consideration in Washington, and hundreds of thousands would think about shutting down their practices or retiring early if it were adopted, a new IBD/TIPP Poll has found.

The poll contradicts the claims of not only the White House, but also doctors' own lobby — the powerful American Medical Association — both of which suggest the medical profession is behind the proposed overhaul.

It also calls into question whether an overhaul is even doable; 72% of the doctors polled disagree with the administration's claim that the government can cover 47 million more people with better-quality care at lower cost.

The following IBD pie charts give a clear picture of what what doctors think about Obamacare and its effect on their medical practices and the quality of patient care: (Click on graphic to enlarge.)


On Thursday, Investor's Business Daily continued their front-page discussion of the poll results:

Our poll also invited those taking part to tell us the reasons why they didn't like the health care reforms — or, in the minority of cases, why they did. The outpouring of written responses IBD received — about 1,300 in all — was stunning.

[snip]

In combing through the responses, we identified no fewer than 21 separate issues doctors felt either weren't addressed or weren't solved by proposed reforms. The issues are many, but boil down to three big categories: costs, controls and courts.

As one survey participant responded:

This unconstitutional plan gives sovereignty over our bodies to unelected, unaccountable, ignorant bureaucrats. Every governmental micromanagement of our lives has failed in its objective, and caused moral and economic bankruptcy.

Excellent diagnosis, doctor.

_________

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