Posted by
Andy Zarowny on Saturday, April 25, 2009 4:02:06 PM
The New York Times, that
extremist, right-wing rag,
ran a story on April 1 of this
year concerning an alarming
trend in our health care sys-
tem. It seems that many
doctors are opting out of
accepting Medicare. Trying
to find a replacement is
becoming more difficult.
This, coming on the eve of
the largest expansion of
government-run health care,
is not good news for the
Obama Administration. It
will not matter how much
money the government throws
at the problem if there is
nobody who will participate.
The primary reason for this
migration is government
bureaucracy. Medicare takes
too long to reimburse doctors
and other providers. Also, the
amount of paperwork is too
much. A survey in 2008 by
the Medicare Payment Ad-
visory Commission, whom
advise Congress, showed that
last year, patients who had
difficulty finding doctors who
accepted Medicare rose to
29%, up from 24% the year
before. A survey in Texas
last year showed that only
38% of primary care doctors
accepted Medicare.
Add to this a report from the
American College of Physi-
cians that we are facing a
shortage of internists. By
2025, they estimate we will
have 35,000 to 45,000 fewer
doctors practicing than the
nation will need. Meanwhile,
President Obama assures
us that doctors nationwide
are eagerly awaiting the
nationalization of the health
care industry. Oh are they?
The latest trend in medicine
is not Botox, but the concierge
system. Patients pay a retain-
er fee, usually around $1600
annually, to have access to
a provider service. From
there it is a pay-as-you-go
method, with fees based on
what service you require.
Some doctors are even going
back to older methods, of
just charging flat fees to new
patients. In some cases, these
are very low, as little as $25
for a general examination. A
few states are attempting to
discourage this practice by
actually prosecuting doctors
criminally who do not accept
government, or even private,
insurance.
In Ayn Rand's tome of a novel,
"Atlas Shrugged", we have the
hero, John Galt, leading a
strike of the mind. Convincing
the productive and creative to
stop participating in the econo-
my. It would seem that we now
have a trend of Dr. Galts exit-
ing the system, tired of being
oppressed by government
regulations and fees. After all,
most physicians leave college
with huge student loans to pay
back. It would stand to reason
that a new revolt of the Middle
Class would be lead by those
most restricted.
One must wonder what other
sectors of the economy will
begin to follow the lead of the
Dr. Galts? As the Obama
Administration prepares to
inject more government control
into the free market, whole
industries from banking, autos,
energy and agriculture are now
facing being further regulated.
We already see a lack of new
capital investment as many
financiers continue to sit on the
sidelines with their cash, not
knowing how far this march
to Socialism will take America.