After 12 years of school and residency, you’d think it would take wild horses to drag a physician away from his practice.
In reality, all it might take is Obamacare.
Daily Caller:
Eighty-three percent of American physicians have considered leaving their practices over President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, according to a survey released by the Doctor Patient Medical Association.
The DPMA, a non-partisan association of doctors and patients, surveyed a random selection of 699 doctors nationwide. The survey found that the majority have thought about bailing out of their careers over the legislation, which was upheld last month by the Supreme Court.
Even if doctors do not quit their jobs over the ruling, America will face a shortage of at least 90,000 doctors by 2020. The new health care law increases demand for physicians by expanding insurance coverage. This change will exacerbate the current shortage as more Americans live past 65.
By 2025 the shortage will balloon to over 130,000, Len Marquez, the director of government relations at the American Association of Medical Colleges, told The Daily Caller.
“One of our primary concerns is that you’ve got an aging physician workforce and you have these new beneficiaries — these newly insured people — coming through the system,” he said. “There will be strains and there will be physician shortages.”
The DPMA found that many doctors do not believe the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will lead to better access to medical care for the majority of Americans, co-founder of the DPMA Kathryn Serkes told TheDC.
“Doctors clearly understand what Washington does not — that a piece of paper that says you are ‘covered’ by insurance or ‘enrolled’ in Medicare or Medicaid does not translate to actual medical care when doctors can’t afford to see patients at the lowball payments, and patients have to jump through government and insurance company bureaucratic hoops,” she said.
Watch for the return of the traveling snake oil salesman. The wait times to see a doctor are going to be measured in months, home remedies will no doubt make a huge comeback. (I’m not talking about “homeopathy” which is relatively harmless.)
And the snake oil salesman has a role model he can look up to; Barack Obama. If the president can tell a passel of lies to sell his witches brew of, health insurance reform, who’s to say a snake oil salesman should be held to account for telling fibs about his product?
I recommend that all parents designate at least one of their children for medical school. Having a child as a doctor may be the only way to see a physician in the world created by Obamacare.
What’s the big deal? Slaves always complain about being slaves, there’s nothing new in this article. And, just so you know, the doctors will be forbidden to quit with passage of the “Runaway Physician Act”.
Now, why can’t I also get free legal care? Isn’t it time to do something about those greedy lawyers? Why yes, yes it is! Then we’ll go after greedy architects, greedy engineers, greedy salesmen and greedy strippers. On second thought, maybe discount strippers aren’t such a good idea…
I do not see that happening. The stock and real estate collapse have ruled out early retirement for a lot of docs. Now they want to raise taxes again.
What will happen is what is already going on. Doctors will leave private practice and become employees. This is part of the plan for both the hospital and doctors group mega corporations and the government. Small groups and individuals can no longer compete. The large hospital chains and insurance companies are in bed with the government which puts the foxes in charge of the henhouse.
So your doctor works for the hospital and the hospital works for the government. Nobody works for you.
“The DPMA, a non-partisan association of doctors and patients….”
Even a quick perusal of internet info will inform you that the DPMA is a member of the National Tea Party Federation and other right-wing groups. But Moran is right when he warns against snake oil salesmen.
My friend is a doctor. He told me yesterday that the “new rules of the game” will end
medicine as we know it in the U.S. Our health care system is not perfect. But do we really want the U.S. government telling us which procedures, tests, medications we need. That is a very scary thought.
Chief Justice John Roberts has lit the path for the Obama faithful…simply pass a tax penalizing into oblivion any doctor who chooses to leave the medical practice.
After all, they CAN’T MANDATE that the doctor continue to practice medicine against his wishes – but they CAN tax him until he succumbs to their wishes and behaves in a manner they otherwise cannot constitutionally mandate.
Of course, you have to leave them some sort of light at the end of the tunnel, so mandatory minimum retirement age for doctors will become 95.
Heck, they could even go the route of the old USSR and pick and choose who goes to medical school based upon aptitude tests.
Oh, you wanted to be an artist?
Tough.
The state has decided they can make better use of you as a doctor so that is what you must do – or we will pass a tax severely penalizing you for not going into the profession we have determined is best suited for you.
See, it’s simple!
If you believe the Daily Caller (Tucker carlson’s rag) then you have much bigger issues than anyone can help you with. Do you honestly believe that a full 83% of doctors would walk away from their way of earning a living just because a black man won an election? The pool of insured patients INCREASED – which means the doctor’s now have new patients ABLE TO PAY THEM. Please think about it – I know, I am asking a lot.
I am afraid your bigotry is really harming your ability to think properly.
Your almost immediately refer to a black man winning election as a reason he is being opposed – is EVERYTHING with you about racism? Can it never be about how abject a failure Obummer has been?
Could there be other, more pertinent reasons he is being opposed, and could there be other reasons doctors are considering getting out of the medical profession?
Let’s see:
Federal law says you have to provide service regardless of ability to pay….how is a business supposed to stay in business under those circumstances?
Federal law is already having the effect of closing down private practices due to the increased regulatory environment…..how is reducing the number of doctors offices a good thing?
Obamacare as written is far more favorable to publicly owned facilities than privately own facilities, thereby coercing thousands of once highly paid and independent minded professionals to become employees of hospitals rather than their own bosses running their own independent businesses….how is reducing the number of options a good thing? How is crushing small businesses a good thing?
The facilities that are left are having their reimbursements for services to people on medicare cut since the feds already know they can’t pay for everything…..again, how are they supposed to stay in business?
It’s no wonder a high percentage of doctors are considering alternative paths.
I’m sure more than a few have been considering opening up a practice outside of the US that would cater to US customers not willing to wade through the Obamacare mess we are all about to be hit with.
Steve,
If a doctor works 10 hours a day and sees a patient every 15 minutes ,that is 40 patients a day . It does not matter how many are insured , the doctor only has so much capacity .Please stop making this a rascist issue . I believe most people ,liberal , conservative or indifferent are way past that . the true problem lies with the people in power regardless of political affiliation. Changeing the pay plan, retirement benefits ,term limits, putting government employees on the Social Security system and PAC money changes ,etc is the only way this situation is going to change .
steveo you would side with obama no matter what he did,hope u can afford the plan he picks for you ,do you work for government?