Healthcare Reform

The world of healthcare delivery is soon to change. The question is, will the changes made be for the better or for the worse? Unfortunately, as physicians, it will no longer be possible to put your head and in the sand or to close your eyes, fingers in ears, and chant "na na na na na" to cancel out this looming reality. Time to face the inevitable.... the freight train is on its way.

The United States of America still offers the best healthcare in the world. (For those who can afford it.) Unfortunately, for a great many, those who can afford it are decreasing in number due to job loss, benefit cuts, etc., due to the economic crisis in the workplace. Up until now, Medicaid and Medicare have been holding afloat those who are too old to work, and the more financially destitute. (though I do hold the belief that what really needs to happen in this country is Medicaid reform.... there are far more incentives for able-bodied people to remain in the Medicaid system, in addition to receiving government hand-outs in general such as food stamps, etc., than there are incentives for people to be self-sufficient. But that's another topic for debate....) As physicians, you know reimbursement from Medicaid and Medicare at present is very poor, at best. Which begs the question -- as a physician, who is already struggling to keep his own business afloat -- what will happen when the majority of patients you service carry a government-backed insurance plan with payment schedules similar to those of Medicaid and Medicare of today? Scary thought, I know.... Think this new healthcare reform won't affect your bottom line or the way you do business?? Think again.

Outside of lobbying your representatives in Congress with a better solution, there is little more any of us can do to stop this freight train.... the power is at the top, and unless you fight to make your ideas and opinions heard, change is coming......and you had better be prepared, because it may be a change you haven't foreseen. There is talk of requiring all medical providers to disclose confidential patient health information to a single government database -- a VERY scary thought. Makes you wonder if this will be the means for a more sinister motive -- like the government deciding who they will allow you to treat, and who they will not. (Akin of the government deciding whose life is valuable, and whose is not?) Sounds a little Hitler-esque, doesn't it?? Socialized medicine is on its way, and "Big Brother" will be in control, unless physicians speak out and fight back. If you look at socialized medicine in Canada and other European countries, and how THAT is working out (not well!!), you will see the danger a socialized healthcare system in America will bring. We will lose all that has made healthcare in America the greatest in the world! And you, dear physician, as will all of us, will find yourself in a healthcare world you no longer recognize.

So gather together, healers of this country, and wield YOUR power! Speak up now, or forever hold your peace.....