DJP Update 7-1-2010 What others are saying “health care reform law”; comment; Lagniappe re longevity!
Health Affairs Blog article by Stephen Langel – interview with Rep. (Dr.) Michael Burgess of Texas.
Read entire article at: http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2010/07/01/rep-burgess-gives-physicians’-take-on-new-health-care-law/
EXCERPTS
Texas Republican Rep. Michael Burgess took a strong stand on the new health care reform law yesterday morning, arguing that opponents must stop its implementation by targeting its funding. He also predicted that there would not be a permanent fix to the Medicare sustainable growth rate until at least after the 2010 election.
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The congressman also panned the bill’s widely supported effort to base doctors’ payment upon quality, rather than quantity, of care. Instead, Burgess came to the defense of the current fee-for-service system where the provider is paid for each individual service rendered to a patient. The congressman argued that doctors are “so goal directed that we need that impetus” of FFS as motivation to provide the best possible care. But he conceded that the vast majority of people do not take this view.
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His hope is that even if Democrats maintain control of the House, the heat they take for this new law will make many of them more open to stopping it. He also predicted a possible “sea change” in Congress, with more physicians seeking House seats than any time in the past 100 years. There are 46 doctors, 40 of whom are Republicans, who are vying for seats, he added. This is the result of doctors’ dissatisfaction with the new law and the way it was passed, Burgess said.
Part of physicians’ concerns involve Congress’ failure to fix funding of the sustainable growth rate (SGR), which ties physician payment rates to Medicare spending for physician services and the growth rate of the overall economy. Doctors recently faced a 21.5 percent cut in their fees, which was later addressed by a temporary extension. Instead, lawmakers should have found a permanent fix for the SGR, Burgess said, adding that the specter of cuts is the number one roadblock for the elderly to get health care.
Part of the blame for this falls on the American Medical Association, who helped negotiate the final bill language. They failed to adequately represent their members, he said. “Why they didn’t do a better job, I don’t know.”
Despite this pressing need, Burgess told reporters that there is no chance a permanent fix will take place before the 2010 election. The temporary extension runs out on November 30, but there just isn’t the time for the lame duck Congress to make long-term changes, he said. Instead, another short-term extension or “budget gimmick” will be necessary. However, when an attempt at a permanent fix occurs, Republicans are not unified on whether the permanent fix needs to be completely paid for or if it can add to the deficit, he said.
Finally, Burgess saw no benefit in the law’s plan to reduce Medicare costs through a payment advisory board. Even though Congress could not be trusted to act on its own to fix the SGR, an independent panel is also not the answer to problems with the healthcare system, he said, counting repeal of the proposed Medicare Independent Payment Advisory Board as one of his top targets. Other targets include a new tax on medical device manufacturers.
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DJP Comment: Too bad Dr. Burgess doesn’t mention balance-billing and private contracting! Perhaps he did and the reporter did not write about that part of the discussion. Balance-billing and private contracting need to be emphasized in every interview! Price-fixing and central control by government are doomed to failure. We need patient-centered care; patients in control with the doctor as trusted advisor; patients making decisions and having responsibility for making prudent decisions. Let not the greatness of America diminish. Let us not repeat the errors of failed economies. How many times do we have to see the repeat of this admonition from Nobel Prize winner William Butler Yeats. America found the golden fleece in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. We don’t need to reinvent and revert to the failures of other countries. Unchain the people and America will shine brightly again. That is our goal & gold.
EXCERPT:
Another Troy must rise and set,
Another lineage feed the crow,
Another Argo’s painted prow
Drive to a flashier bauble yet.
——
And don’t forget the warning in Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley
EXCERPT:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away”.
—
DJP Comment: Let not pride and arrogance in Washington, DC lead to our demise. The people want LEADERS, not power-brokers. Stop coercion. Listen up, Washington!
Lagniappe: Here is a fascinating story about a new discovery concerning longevity.
www.twitter.com/DJPNEWS
Exciting RT @WSJ Scientists..discovered a genetic signature of longevity; free test will be available to public http://on.wsj.com/9DcgBf
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Stay well,
Donald
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Donald J. Palmisano, MD, JD
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