Concierge Medicine – Healthcare Politics Pushing Patients Away
“Medicine in the United States is changing,” Dr. Rodney Malisos said in the Liberty Tribune. “Primary care is rapidly becoming a nursing profession with the explosion of Take Care, Redi Clinic and Minute Clinics.”
Medicine is definitely changing, and with politics taking complete control of the healthcare picture, patients are not only done with “Politics as usual,” they’re done with the entire healthcare field. Concierge medicine is a growing field for many reasons, one of which is a direct result of “politics as usual.”
It’s quite a dichotomy; the fact that politicians are fighting over this healthcare reform bill, wanting a change in medicine that will benefit every American, and yet pushing people away from healthcare all together. Patients aren’t covered by insurance companies as they once were, nor are they visiting their family physician as often. Today, solutions such as Take Care Clinics and neighborhood nurse practitioners with their own offices are seeing a rise in traffic.
“Going Broke For ObamaCare” – Guest Post
Going Broke for ObamaCare
Dear Friend:
Congress is just one vote away from passing legislation that would put one-sixth of our economy under permanent government control.
How can that be when this legislation is so overwhelmingly disapproved by the American people?
Because the President and his congressional allies are throwing up a smokescreen to keep people from seeing their real agenda.
All this complicated talk of reconciliation doesn’t matter. If the House passes the Senate bill with a simple majority of 216 votes, ObamaCare becomes the law of the land.
And the legislation will be the Senate bill exactly as it is written. That means House Democrats will be on the hook for a vote for:
The Cornhusker Kickback, the Louisiana Purchase, and every other vote-buying deal buried in the Senate bill.
Abortion language that clearly allows federal funding for abortion and that the U.S. Conference of Bishops solidly opposes.
The Cadillac tax on high-cost health insurance policies that labor unions hate.
Half a trillion dollars in new taxes and half a trillion more in Medicare cuts.
The White House is going for broke on ObamaCare. The president wants the House to act by March 18!
That means we only have a very small window of opportunity to educate policymakers and the American public.
Can I count on your help?
The Galen Institute is doing its part by giving dozens of interviews, writing commentary pieces for major publications and purchasing ads on satellite radio. In short, we’re working day and night to expose the real agenda of President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid.
Would you make a tax-deductible contribution of $50, $100, or even $250 to help us get our message out?
Time is of the essence. If we don’t act now, our country will be saddled with a health care plan that increases costs, reduces choice, and puts government in charge of decisions affecting our very lives.
Thank you for your commitment to our work. I hope I can count on you today for your most generous contribution to support our efforts.
Sincerely,
Grace-Marie Turner
President, Galen Institute
The Galen Institute is a nonprofit, 501c3 organization. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Medicare Cutting Physician Salary by 21%
Do you think doctors make a lot? According to the national trends, most people to think doctors make a very good living, and concierge medicine practices are strictly in it for more money. Reality check; family physicians see from 100 to 200 patients a week, which, at only 15 minutes per patient, is roughly 50 hours of work per week at only about $40 per hour, according to a recent CNN report.
Sure, to many people that might sound like a lot, but consider this; if your average family physician is paying over $157,000 in student debt, that hourly rate doesn’t stretch very far. Now, let’s add to the mix the 21% cut in Medicare payments that are set to take effect at the end of March, and doctors like William Schreiber of New York will be making less than minimum wage.
Wasteful Medical Spending Trickles Down To Patients
“For every dollar the nation spends on health care, 50 cents is wasted.”
Medical waste is through the roof, and a recent report by CNN shows how out-of-control it’s gotten. Patients, even insurance companies, are paying through the roof for things like toothbrushes and Tylenol. Perhaps this is another reason why concierge medicine is growing so quickly.
Right now, with healthcare still on the table, the economy still in the dumps, and congress trying to figure out funding, it’s the perfect opportunity to look at how much money is being wasted every day in this messy industry.
“Doubling Down” by Grace-Marie Turner
Doubling Down
National Review Online: Critical Condition
By Grace-Marie Turner
March 3, 2010
The president’s determination to enact his collectivist health-reform agenda at any political cost despite overwhelming public opposition is unprecedented in modern times.
Today, Mr. Obama is expected to say he will not heed the will of three-quarters of the American people who either want Congress to stop work on health reform altogether or start over, and will instead tell Congress to charge ahead through the minefield of budget reconciliation to pass a bill that will put one-sixth of our economy under government control.
Rational arguments and facts are discarded. When Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wisc.) detailed at the summit the budget gimmicks in the bills that would put executives of private companies in jail, the president just brushed past his remarks and said he “disagrees.”
Summit Standoff by Grace-Marie Turner
Summit Standoff
By Grace-Marie Turner
The consensus among most pundits and reporters was summed up by The Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan in her column today: "Boy, that didn't work."
The White House expected a slam dunk, building on what it considered a triumph at the House Republican retreat in Baltimore a month ago, so it could convince rank-and-file Democrats that the time has come to get health reform done.
I was at the retreat in Baltimore, invited to do a session on health reform for members, and was in the room during that remarkable 70-minute exchange.
Grumpy Old Men Control Politics – The Healthcare Summit
The healthcare debate rages on, literally. President Obama’s healthcare summit held yesterday accomplished one thing and not much more. It reaffirmed how obvious the philosophy of congress truly is “politics as usual.” There were no compromises made regarding healthcare, no disputes settled, and no purpose in the end. After seven hours of debate and arguing, we can say one thing; American politics has got to change.
Yesterday’s healthcare summit, where President Obama sat down with the leaders from both the Democratic party and the Republican party, looked more like a marathon ran by, well, old men in business suits. We were hoping for something a bit more productive, proactive, and maybe successful, but that would mean our congressional leaders would have to converse like grown, educated and respectful men. Why would we ever think that would happen?
Valley Doctor Converts ‘Assembly-Line’ Medicine to Proactive Practice
Dr. Chan sees changing healthcare field drastically affecting patient-doctor relationships
Phoenix, AZ February 23, 2010: Dr. Kevin Chan, a practicing Phoenix physician, recently brought patients together to tell them things in his office were changing. Instead of hustling to see as many patients as possible a week, Dr. Chan had decided to add a new service that limits his practice to 600 patients, total. He called this new practice Rejenesis.
“The time has come for an alternate model of healthcare delivery in the 21st century,” Dr. Chan told his patients. “One that changes from the fast-paced, volume-based, assembly-line, impersonalized, and reactive conventional medicine to the time-devoting, quality-driven, patient-centered, individualized, and proactive functional physiologic medicine that focuses on prevention and wellness, addresses the whole person, body, mind and spirit, incorporates complementary and alternative medical therapies, and promotes optimal health far beyond the mere absence of illness.”
With the changing healthcare field, skyrocketing premiums and slow reimbursements patients and doctors alike are seeking market based solutions and alternatives. According to Dr. Chan, misdiagnosis and “symptom suppression” has saturated the medical industry.
President Obama’s New Healthcare Plan Attempt
President Obama is pushing hard this time for healthcare reform, and it’s his personal healthcare plan that has people talking. Of course, talk is just that, talk, and the blogs, newswires, and talk shows are all a flutter with this new healthcare plan. And while we focus on concierge medicine and personalized attention here, we’ve spent a lot of time on the fact that the middle class is getting hit on all sides of this healthcare battle.
The president says his health care proposal will help more than 31 million uninsured Americans get coverage. Obama says his plan includes the largest middle-class tax cut for health care in history. – CNN.com
Physician Shortage – New Medical Schools To Open
The physician shortage is no mystery or surprise to anyone who follows healthcare news. It’s a disaster that is about to hit us extremely hard, especially once the healthcare reform bill begins to take effect. When that happens, and millions of uninsured Americans are instantly able to visit a physician, there simply won’t be enough to give every patient adequate care.
According to the Wall Street Journal, America will find itself at a shortage of 125,000 primary care physicians over the next 15 years. This doesn’t bode well for the fact that we only graduate 27,000 new primary care physicians per year. The Wall Street Journal goes on to say that we already are short 16,000 physicians in 2010, and with the healthcare reform bill just around the corner, that could mean huge problems for the newly insured.