The DJP Update

“Facts don’t cease to exist because they are ignored.”  Great quote by Aldous Huxley and applicable today with PPACA, the 2400 page plus healthcare law of disasters that will not enhance quality, will not decrease cost spent on medical care, and will not increase access to medical care.  And just wait until you see all of the regulations that will be the evil twin of this law!  The meltdown will get worse.  We must act before it is too late.  Get involved!  Time is of the essence.  Grousing around the coffee pot won’t fix the problem.
Some facts:  

1- Medicaid is a failed system.  Putting millions of additional patients on Medicaid will not fix the failure.  Instead it is a cruel hoax on Americans to claim that having a Medicaid card is access to medical care.
2- Medicaid is a price-fixed payment scheme that pays less than the cost of delivering the care to patients.  History teaches that such price-fixing leads to decrease of service or loss of the product.  The patient suffers.  The doctors flee the system.  But the central planners says they know better.  Here are some breaking news facts to add to the abundance from the history books worldwide.  Folks can spin PPACA any way they want but the facts remain.  Gravity exists.  Failed experiments will fail again if nothing is changed in the experiment.  

Read these tweets I did today about what is happening in Louisiana.  The Louisiana State Medical Society (LSMS) has the survey of Louisiana doctors who are not taking Medicaid patients at:  http://tinyurl.com/2g235dd  Over 1/2 not taking new Medicaid patients.  95% find it difficult to find consultants to refer patients to.

By the way, LSMS is now tweeting with the ID LaMedSoc    (Someone else had LSMS) Here is my tweet with the info:   The Louisiana State Medical Society is now on Twitter as @LaMedSoc Go to twitter.com/LaMedSocto join as a followerabout 6 hours ago via web

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More tweets from www.twitter.com/DJPNEWS

1. Latest tweet Medicaid cuts is another example of failed Fed gov programs even when admin by state. #PPACA continues failureabout 6 hours ago via web
2. Read about 2 years Medicaid cuts about to be implemented in Louisiana at LSMS Website plus survey http://tinyurl.com/2g235ddabout 6 hours ago via web

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Medicaid ins doesn’t = find doc: pay so low. LSMS: >1/2 docs no new #Medicaid & 25% consid..; 95% docs difficulty referrals #hcrabout 10 hours ago via Echofon

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And check out this press release from Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals Secretary (more facts that won’t cease to exist by being ignored) http://www.dhh.la.gov/news.asp?Detail=1633

EXCERPT: (but read entire press release at link)

Kaiser Family Foundation Study a Good Start, but is Limited in Scope and Does Not Account for Real Policy Costs States Must Consider

BATON ROUGE—Federal health care reform could cost Louisiana taxpayers in excess of $6 billion over 10 years once implemented, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine announced today in response to a report by Kaiser’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.

…. Finally, DHH disputes any conclusion that the impact of reform on states is “relatively small.”  To be sure, the impact is significant, particularly given the difficulty faced in the current budget climate.  

“It is not appropriate to ignore the real policy implications faced by the states,” said Sec. Levine. “To simply enroll more people in a fundamentally broken system where doctors cannot even take care of the people we have today, where hospitals are openly struggling to maintain services at the rates they are currently paid, and where Legislatures are faced with having to make choices between funding the ever-growing costs of Medicaid and other priorities like education, roads and public safety,  we simply don’t know how anyone can say with a straight face that the cost impact is ‘relatively small.’ It is relatively large, and our governor and Legislature have the right to understand what the potential implications are.”

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LAGNIAPPE  My important thought for today:  Hug a loved one, especially on a birthday!  Life can be fleeting.  Let loved ones know you love them & thank them for all they do.  Robin’s birthday is tomorrow, Sept 3.  She deserves lots of hugs for all she does for me (& putting up with me!).  And yes, call a friend and ask how he or she is doing.  You will feel better and the friend will too.  We are entering tough times and friends and loved ones are especially important in times of stress.  Count on it.
Stay well,

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