Framing his goals for healthcare reform as a matter of access and not an across-the-board socialized delivery construct, President Barack Obama urged the AMA to support (even if initially tepid) his vision for shutting the gap in the number of uninsured in this country. In his speech on Monday, widely regarded as the opening salvo in this session’s debate on healthcare reform, Obama called for unity among those on the front lines of this crisis: the physicians. According to the president, the implementation of government involvement in guaranteeing access to care for the uninsured would only be as an alternative (ie, the so-called “public option”) — enhancing competition within the economy of healthcare, and lowering costs in the process.
Sounds a little simplistic, perhaps? While mostly seen as an effort to provide a balm of sorts to mild detractors of his intentions with regard to government-run care delivery, Obama’s plans for reform really do not provide assurances that both Republicans and Democrats can reach any further common ground on this issue, a fact increasingly apparent as this debate rages on. What seems certain, at this point, is that Obama is concerned more with his short term perception as healthcare advocate as opposed to long term visionary. In an environment in which the perceptions of physicians of any “plan” which affects their livelihood is lukewarm at best, Obama has his work cut out for him. Perhaps legislative debate on this issue will illuminate matters and modify those perceptions so that some productive action toward consensus is taken, even if it is a weak agreement between doctors and the U.S. government. | LINK
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Originating from Saint Paul, Minnesota, [doctorpundit.com] is a weblog about the policy of healthcare and where it intersects with politics and public opinion; it is edited by Michael Douglas, MD, MBA. Welcome, and please consider my take on what is Healthcare 2.0, complemented by a few of my thoughts on my personal avocations and guilty pleasures: music, prose, and writing. Follow Doctor Pundit via RSS above.
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[...] According to Ezra’s reporting, both the Senate and the House want the bill on the floor by July, and that’s before the August recess, when Senators go home and hear it from constituents. So, you’d best tell them what you think now.Some blog reaction from docs, who don’t all reflect AMA policy (why should they? The AMA only represents a small fraction of practicing docs): Doctorpundit.com: [...]
[...] Doctorpundit.com: In an environment in which the perceptions of physicians of any “plan” which affects their livelihood is lukewarm at best, Obama has his work cut out for him. Perhaps legislative debate on this issue will illuminate matters and modify those perceptions so that some productive action toward consensus is taken, even if it is a weak agreement between doctors and the U.S. government. [...]