Dr. Dove On The Health Care Reform Bill

I decided to take today off. I’m only reading stuff that isn’t directly related to medicine. So, I picked up the monthly newsletter from the MSMA (Missouri State Medical Association). It laid out the healthcare bill in a simplified format, and stated point by point why it doesn’t support it (in contrast to the AMA). They bring up some good points.  I was on the fence before regarding if I want this bill to pass, but I’ve decided I hope it doesn’t. Regulating insurance companies and requiring people to have health insurance are good things, and I think laws need to be passed to make this stuff happen. There are a bunch of problems though: (1) It does nothing for torte reform. Obama said frivolous lawsuits only account for like 1% of healthcare spending. That doesn’t take defensive medicine into account. (2) It doesn’t eliminate SGR (“sustainable growth rate,” a built in system in medicare that decreases spending by decreasing the amount physicians are reimbursed for services). (3) It creates a new bureaucracy with power to independently control medicare at a pretty extreme level. (4) According to the newsletter, the bill would “effectively ban” the development of physician owned hospitals.

Overall, the bill empowers government bureaucrats, and de-empowers physicians. That can’t possibly be good for American healthcare.

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