New survey: 65% of doctors say healthcare quality will decline under ObamaCare
January 19th, 2011 11:55 am ET
As the House of Representatives begins its debate on efforts to repeal a law that gives the government control over 18 percent of the gross domestic product, alternate sets of numbers are being put forward by members of the opposing parties on the ramifications of repeal.
On the anti-repeal side, the Department Health and Human Services released figures indicating that up to 129 million Americans under 65 who have a pre-existing health condition would risk losing health insurance if the law is repealed. On the pro-repeal side, Republicans charge that the Congressional Budget Office estimate of the cost of repeal, some $230 billion, is based on inaccurate input.
One number over which there can no dispute is the 65% of doctors who insist that the quality of healthcare will decline if the law goes forward as written. This was one of a number of findings from a newly released Thomson Reuters survey of 2,900 doctors.
No matter which side of the health care debate you find yourself on, one indisputable fact is that our health care system is only as good as the number and quality of medical professionals who staff it.
As to the number of doctors, at a time when coverage is being extended to between 30 and 45 million Americans, the nation is going to need more health professionals. But another study suggests the opposite is likely to happen. When asked about plans to change the way they practiced medicine as the health care reform law was being phased in, only 26% of doctors said they intended to maintain the status quo.
* 16% said they planned to retire.
* 19% said they would cut back on the number of hours.
* 12% said they would cut back on patients seen, and 6% said they would close their practice to new patients.
Reacting to the findings of the Thomson Reuters poll, David Shrier, chief executive officer of HCPlexus, is quoted by CNBC as having said:
The National Physicians Survey tells us that physicians have not been enlisted in the healthcare reform process⦠The message they've taken from healthcare reform appears to be 'Do more with less.' Doctors are telling us they feel disenfranchised and overburdened.
In the meantime, the number of states challenging the constitutionality of the law is now up to 26, more than half of all states in the union.
http://www.examiner.com/libertarian...althcare-quality-will-decline-under-obamacare
January 19th, 2011 11:55 am ET
As the House of Representatives begins its debate on efforts to repeal a law that gives the government control over 18 percent of the gross domestic product, alternate sets of numbers are being put forward by members of the opposing parties on the ramifications of repeal.
On the anti-repeal side, the Department Health and Human Services released figures indicating that up to 129 million Americans under 65 who have a pre-existing health condition would risk losing health insurance if the law is repealed. On the pro-repeal side, Republicans charge that the Congressional Budget Office estimate of the cost of repeal, some $230 billion, is based on inaccurate input.
One number over which there can no dispute is the 65% of doctors who insist that the quality of healthcare will decline if the law goes forward as written. This was one of a number of findings from a newly released Thomson Reuters survey of 2,900 doctors.
No matter which side of the health care debate you find yourself on, one indisputable fact is that our health care system is only as good as the number and quality of medical professionals who staff it.
As to the number of doctors, at a time when coverage is being extended to between 30 and 45 million Americans, the nation is going to need more health professionals. But another study suggests the opposite is likely to happen. When asked about plans to change the way they practiced medicine as the health care reform law was being phased in, only 26% of doctors said they intended to maintain the status quo.
* 16% said they planned to retire.
* 19% said they would cut back on the number of hours.
* 12% said they would cut back on patients seen, and 6% said they would close their practice to new patients.
Reacting to the findings of the Thomson Reuters poll, David Shrier, chief executive officer of HCPlexus, is quoted by CNBC as having said:
The National Physicians Survey tells us that physicians have not been enlisted in the healthcare reform process⦠The message they've taken from healthcare reform appears to be 'Do more with less.' Doctors are telling us they feel disenfranchised and overburdened.
In the meantime, the number of states challenging the constitutionality of the law is now up to 26, more than half of all states in the union.
http://www.examiner.com/libertarian...althcare-quality-will-decline-under-obamacare