Dec 9 2009
Tens of thousands of physicians in America, who are deeply concerned
over the direction of health reform legislation, have joined forces to
deliver a strong message to Congress: it’s not too late to get it right;
slow down and change course. These 17 state and national medical
societies, including the American
Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and Congress
of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), represent more than 92,000
physicians from coast to coast, and are unified in their opposition of
the “Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act” (H.R. 3590) as introduced by Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid. The groups, along with three past
presidents of the American Medical Association, this week sent an
urgent letter
to the U.S. Senate specifying their numerous concerns with Senator
Reid’s bill, which is now being debated. Altogether, more than 40
state, county and national medical societies – representing nearly a
half-million physicians – now publicly oppose the Senate health reform
bill.
“We hope that by speaking with this unified voice, which represents
thousands of the nation’s doctors, that our chorus of opposition will
finally be heard on the floor of the Senate loud and clear,” states Troy
M. Tippett, MD, President of the AANS. “We are urging the Senate to
draft a more targeted bill that will reform the country's flawed system
for financing healthcare, while preserving the best healthcare in the
world. We absolutely support reform, but not this reform; the direction
we’re now heading in is terrifying and heartbreaking for this and future
generations of Americans. Right now, Congress is trying to fix a broken
system with a broken remedy.”
In their letter, the groups stated that while their organizations
strongly believe that continuing on with the status quo is not
acceptable, the shifting to the federal government of so much control
over medical decisions is not justified and is harmful. “We are united
in our resolve to achieve health system reform that empowers patients
and preserves the practice of medicine -- without creating a huge,
unnecessary government bureaucracy,” exclaims Gerald E. Rodts, MD, President
of the CNS. “Together, this coalition is urging lawmakers to take a step
back, revisit the broken elements of our current system and reevaluate
the best options to fix them, and then change the direction of their
reform efforts accordingly. It is vital that we get this right for our
patients and our profession.”
The groups point to a number of problems with H.R. 3590, including:
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The bill undermines the patient-physician relationship and
empowers the federal government with even greater authority.
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The bill is unsustainable from a financial standpoint.
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The government run community health insurance option eventually
will lead to a single-payer, government run healthcare system.
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Largely unchecked by Congress or the courts, the federal government
would have unprecedented authority to change the Medicare program
through the new Independent Medicare Advisory Board and the new
Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation.
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The bill is devoid of real medical liability reform measures
that reduce costs in proven demonstrable ways.
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The right of patient and physicians to privately contract for
health services is not guaranteed in the bill.
http://www.aans.org/
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