We invite your feedback on health care reform
Welcome to the Alliance President’s Blog—a place where I will share my vision for the AMA Alliance in 2009-2010 and where I hope you will share your comments, questions, concerns and insights on the life in a medical family and issues that affect the family of medicine.
The Alliance is your portal to a better world for medical families. This year demands that our voices be heard so that we may impact the change going on around us. As Alliance President, I can assure you that we recognize the need for health care reform; we know there is heated debate on how this should be accomplished. We invite your feedback.
The Alliance will gather your feedback and share your views with the AMA as they work to meet the challenge of health care reform.
Nancy Kyler
AMA Alliance President
Nancy.Kyler@ama-assn.org
I received this from a friend. If any of this is true, WE HAVE TO STOP THE CURRENT VERSION OF THE HEALTHCARE REFORM BILL!
Little gems from the Health Care Bill
Posted on Friday, July 24, 2009 3:12:23 PM by CMS
• Page 16: States that if you have insurance at the time of the bill becoming law and change, you will be required to take a similar plan. If that is not available, you will be required to take the gov option!
• Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure!
• Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed!
• Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)
• Page 42: The “Health Choices Commissioner” will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None.
• Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services.
• Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard.
• Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer..
• Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (example: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)
• Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange.
• Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)
• Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services; translation: illegal aliens
• Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan.
• Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have no choice in the matter.
• Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No “judicial review” is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.
• Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages.
• Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run public plan. No alternatives.
• Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND their families.
• Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll BR • Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll
• Page 167: Any individual who doesnt’ have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.
• Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them).
• Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.
• Page 203: “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax.” Yes, it really says that.
• Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected.”
• Page 241: Doctors: no matter what speciality you have, you’ll all be paid the same (thanks, AMA!)
• Page 253: Government sets value of doctors’ time, their professional judgment, etc.
• Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private healthcare industries.
• Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs.
• Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing!
• Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions.
• Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.
• Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited for owning and investing in healthcare companies!
• Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval.
• Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on “community” input: in other words, yet another payoff for ACORN.
• Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e.., rationing.
• Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc.
• Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals.
• Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by phone).
• Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?
• Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time.
• Page 425: Goverment provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death.
• Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends.
• Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient’s health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.
• Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life.
• Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services: more payoffs for ACORN.
• Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN.
• Page 489: Government will cover marriage and family therapy. Government intervenes in your marriage.
• Page 494: Government will cover mental health services: defining, creating and rationing those services.
Please see http://www.FactCheck.org before buying into one bit of that email that was forwarded to you. There is plenty in HR3200 that needs to be discussed; very little of that is mentioned in the email you received.
Also, please pass FactCheck.org along to your friends who continue to promote falsehoods so relevant debate may reign.
I strongly disagree with the AMA on this one. They will and should lose members for the stand they have taken on an outrageous piece of legislation they supported before it was even written.
I will contact all of my legislators during the recess to voice my strong opposition to a terrible piece of legislation. Reform can be done thoughtfully and well without dismantling the finest health care system the world has known in a flurry of legislation based on a phony deadline. This plan is not reform. It is a political plan not a healthcare plan.
Nancy,I have not heard one positive comment about AMA’s handling of this debate, in fact physicians do not feel represented by the AMA. The physicians and spouses to whom I have spoken beleive the current rush to pass this legislation is politically motivated and NOT in the best interest of our country, it’s citizens and especially not the medical community. AMA should not be so ready to sign on to something this massive and expensive and in the end, that will move us towards socialized medicine, however that is being refuted. It is actually outrageous to hear President Obama actually accuse pediatricians of doing a tonsilectomy on a child because he would be reimbursed more than he would for sore throat care. Unbelievable!! I appreciate you and the AMA Alliance giving us an opportunity to let you know our thoughts. I will look forward to hearing from you and others.
We just returned from a week in Toronto, ON, Canada. I asked several locals what they thought of their health care system and they all expressed positive feelings. One man in particulary was very thankful that he was taken care of for several weeks because his job did not provide sick leave.
Hello,
President of Missouri, our group is struggling on ways to connect with medical students and residents. We are looking into face book and twitter. It is not well received by membership. Our Fall meeting in October we will do a presentation on this style of communication. Any ideas??
Hi, Jackie. We find that using a combination of email, facebook and direct contacts are a great way to connect with techno-savvy members like medicals students and residents. And we find that there is no substitute for personal contact! I’ll email you with my contact info.
So dissappointed to see that the AMA does not represent the majority of the physcian community. It seems the Florida Medical Association has done a better with this one. Shame.
I speak for myself and this may not reflect the views of some of my employers or colleagues.
I am appalled by the fearmongering (and ignorance of facts) that has taken over this debate.
Anyone who does not believe that we should proceed immediately to single payer health care might want to read “The Transformation of American Medicine” (Starr) to understand more about how we got where we are and why continued efforts to protect special interests are not the answer.
After 10 years in Family Practice and as a Board Certified Psychiatrist who practices in a rural area, I am convinced that we must join the rest of the industrialized world in moving forward with single payer health care now.
I am amazed at the naivete of the AMA regarding this proposed legislation. It will lead to single payer healthcare which is an abject failure every time it is tried. This country has the best healthcare in the world. Let’s keep it that way. This legislation, as proposed, is bad for patients, bad for physicians, bad for this country.
To Jackie Remis and anyone else interested in social media, the next issue of our magazine Connections, going to you at the end of August has a cover story written by Kallie Norton on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, MySpace, and Linkedin. Let us know what you think.
Rosetta Gervasi
AMA Alliance Director of Communications
As a Past President, it saddens me to see the AMAA and the AMA supporting the healthcare reform legislation which will undoubtedly be bad for Doctors and all American citizens. While I have been an Alliance member since my husband finished residency, I cannot see financially supporting organizations that are willing to be a party to this legislation rather than mount a full on fight against it.
I for one am glad that the AMA Alliance is a non-partisan organization. My understanding is that the AMA Alliance does not support the healthcare reform legislation under consideration by the U.S. House of Representatives. I think the AMAA is trying to share information with its members, not take a position on it.
I agree with Katie McKernan (above) that it would be difficult to support an organization that ultimately did not do what was best for doctors and their patients.
That would actually go against the AMA Alliance mission, is that correct?
I’d appreciate some clarification here from the AMA Alliance president, if possible. Thanks!
Thank you for your question, Gail. The AMA Alliance recognizes that Alliance members have differing views on how health system reform should or should not be accomplished. The Alliance views our role as one of information sharing and a portal for facilitating open comments on this issue. This is a critical time when every voice counts. Each of us has an opinion and we have the right to make our wishes known. Please encourage fellow members to share their view through this blog. Thank you to those of you that have shared your thoughts and comments with the Alliance!
Thank you for your question, Gail. The AMA Alliance recognizes that Alliance members have differing views on how health system reform should or should not be accomplished. The Alliance views our role as one of information sharing and a portal for facilitating open comments on this issue. This is a critical time when every voice counts. Each of us has an opinion and we have the right to make our wishes known. Please encourage fellow members to share their view through this blog. Thank you to those of you that have shared your thoughts and comments with the Alliance!
Nancy Kyler
AMA Alliance President
I strongly encourage everyone to run each piece of information you receive through http://www.FactCheck.org before passing it along to anyone else. There is plenty to be debated; unfortunately there is too much false and/or misleading information cirulating.
As an Alliance to the American Medical Association, I hope we will all put political party differences aside and carefully discriminate between propoganda that caries alternative agendas and true information that deserves intelligent debate.
We have got to stand united and above the polarizing forces currently coming through the air waves.
I have what I believe to be a viable solution to the healthcare problem we face. We should attack it from the supply side. My plan, which probably seems radical to many, is to divert a tiny percentage of proposed funds for patient care into medical training.
0. Open up more medical schools.
1. Provide FREE tuition to ALL qualified medical students nationwide, which would eliminate the need for high salaries for new doctors.
2. Raise the renumeration of teaching doctors at medical schools so the very best are attracted to these teaching positions.
3. Raise the bar for admission to medical school.
4. Discontinue the “politics” of admission to medical school, thereby ending the incestuousness of the profession…i.e. doctors begetting doctors.
This may seem pretty far out, but as a finincial dropout from Harvard Med, I can assure you I know what I am talking about.
There is not enought positive feedback about the good aspects of healthcare reform. Most americans that are talking about government take over and all the nonsense that is being brought up are the very people that would benefit from a reform that makes it manditory for every American to be covered by health insurance. I say that because “most Americans” can’t afford or are having difficulty paying for health insurance. Having everybody covered reduces cost by eliminating uncovered emergency room visits, uncovered baby deliveries – so on & son on..Most people don’t understand how huge this problem is.
Healthcare reform must be passed.
People need to really think about why healthcare reform is absolutely necessary!
Most of the bad stuff your hearing is completely unsubstantiated.
I threw my Alliance renewal form away, my huband will not be renewing with AMA. The so called healthcare reform legislation thus far has been lies, lies, bad math and more lies. Even is this were good for physicians (which it is not) it is a terrible financial burden for our children to deal with in the future.
Health reform is needed. No doubt. But to unduly burden generations with a huge government takeover is unconscienable…not only financially but in taking away our liberties in so many ways. The alternative bill includes torte reform-among other important topics, which the AMA seems to have stopped discussing. HR 3962, which the AMA supports, actually proposes protection for attorneys pursuing damages against physicians, ensuring no caps, no limits. There has been very little communication to the physicians the AMA says they represent. Unfortunately, physicians in our area do not feel represented by the AMA. This bill does nothing to improve quality of care, only quantity.