In a brand new survey published by the New England Journal of Medicine as many as 46% of all primary care physicians feel that passage of Barack Obama’s unconstitutional health care fiasco will cause them to leave the profession.
This latest survey, performed by the Medicus Firm, a leading physician search and consulting firm based in Atlanta and Dallas, is consistent with a survey taken in September of 2009 and published in Investor’s Business Daily:
45% Of Doctors Would Consider Quitting If Congress Passes Health Care Overhaul
Two of every three practicing physicians oppose the medical overhaul plan under consideration in Washington, and hundreds of thousands would think about shutting down their practices or retiring early if it were adopted, a new IBD/TIPP Poll has found.
The poll contradicts the claims of not only the White House, but also doctors' own lobby — the powerful American Medical Association — both of which suggest the medical profession is behind the proposed overhaul.
It also calls into question whether an overhaul is even doable; 72% of the doctors polled disagree with the administration's claim that the government can cover 47 million more people with better-quality care at lower cost.
The IBD/TIPP Poll was conducted by mail the past two weeks, with 1,376 practicing physicians chosen randomly throughout the country taking part. Responses are still coming in, and doctors' positions on related topics — including the impact of an overhaul on senior care, medical school applications and drug development — will be covered later in this series.
Major findings included:
• Two-thirds, or 65%, of doctors say they oppose the proposed government expansion plan. This contradicts the administration's claims that doctors are part of an "unprecedented coalition" supporting a medical overhaul.
It also differs with findings of a poll released Monday by National Public Radio that suggests a "majority of physicians want public and private insurance options," and clashes with media reports such as Tuesday's front-page story in the Los Angeles Times with the headline "Doctors Go For Obama's Reform."
Nowhere in the Times story does it say doctors as a whole back the overhaul. It says only that the AMA — the "association representing the nation's physicians" and what "many still regard as the country's premier lobbying force" — is "lobbying and advertising to win public support for President Obama's sweeping plan."
The AMA, in fact, represents approximately 18% of physicians and has been hit with a number of defections by members opposed to the AMA's support of Democrats' proposed health care overhaul.
• Four of nine doctors, or 45%, said they "would consider leaving their practice or taking an early retirement" if Congress passes the plan the Democratic majority and White House have in mind.
More than 800,000 doctors were practicing in 2006, the government says. Projecting the poll's finding onto that population, 360,000 doctors would consider quitting.
Before we move on to the latest Survey, let’s think about this a minute. We are supposedly adding as many as 30 million new patients to a health care system that already has a massive shortage of qualified doctors and nurses. That means that if things just remain the same, and no one quits, our health care system will be strained to the breaking point.
Think longer waits for appointments and less time for you to spend with your doctor at an appointment. As resources are finite, rationing of care will become a reality. And I’m not talking about the super-duper, double throw down expensive treatments that our progressive friends always throw out there as examples, when saying insurance companies already ration care, I’m talking about basic care.
BTW, insurance companies don’t "ration care." They may refuse to pay for treatment, but they can’t actually stop someone from getting any treatment. As it is now, there are many charitable organizations that will step in and help patients who need treatment, but don’t have the money to pay for it. Few people are absolutely refused medical care in this country.
Under ObamaCare, government panels will actually stop patients from being treated if they deem them "unworthy."
Now, take this already strained situation, and then take away half of the doctors, and you have a crisis on your hands. Quite simply, people will go untreated for any number of conditions, due to the lack of doctors. This is "death panels" by proxy!
So what happens when half the doctors quit? Chaos.
Right now America has the best health care in the world. We have hard working, dedicated men and women who are truly the tops in their field. If these folks are forced out of medicine, the rush will be on to replace them. But with who?
Like other nations with socialized medicine, and the sub-par working environment and wages that goes along with it, we’ll have to import our doctors. Many of the imported doctors will come from third world countries and the Middle East. Now some of these people are indeed fine doctors, but not all of them.
Basically, we’ll go from being treated by these guys:
To These guys:
All my life the democrats have been caterwauling about the "outsourcing of jobs." Passing ObamaCare will be one of the greatest single outsourcing of jobs in our nation’s history!
Here’s the results from the Medicus survey:
The Medicus Firm Physician Survey: Health Reforms Potential Impact on Physician Supply and Quality of Medical Care
Mar. – Apr. 2010
Key Findings from The Medicus Firm Survey
Physician Support of Health Reform in General
• 62.7% of physicians feel that health reform is needed but should be implemented in a more targeted, gradual way, as opposed to the sweeping overhaul that is in legislation.
• 28.7% of physicians are in favor of a public option.
• 3.6% of physicians prefer the "status quo" and feel that the U.S. health care system is best " as is."
Health Reform and Primary Care Physicians
• 46.3% of primary care physicians (family medicine and internal medicine) feel that the passing of health reform will either force them out of medicine or make them want to leave medicine.
Health Reform, Public Option, and Practice Revenue/Physician Income
• 41% of physicians feel that income and practice revenue will "decline or worsen dramatically" with a public option.
• 30% feel income will "decline or worsen somewhat" with a public option.
• 9% feel income will "improve somewhat" with a public option, and 0.8% feel income will "improve dramatically" with a public option.
Health Reform, Public Option, and Physician Supply• 72% of physicians feel that a public option would have a negative impact on physician supply, with 45% feeling it will "decline or worsen dramatically" and 27% predicting it will "decline or worsen somewhat."
• 24% of physicians think they will try to retire early if a public option is implemented.
• 21% of physicians would try to leave medicine if a public option is implemented, even if not near retirement age at the time.
Health Reform and Recommending Medicine to Others as a Career
• 36% of physicians would not recommend medicine as a career, regardless of health reform.
• 27% would recommend medicine as a career but not if health reform passes.
• 25% of physicians would recommend medicine as a career regardless of health reform.
• 12% would not recommend medicine as a career now but feel that they would recommend it as a career if health reform passes
Some key take-aways: Reflecting the sentiments of most Americans, nearly 63% of physicians believe health care reform is indeed necessary, but in targeted areas, using common sense, not in a sweeping overhaul that would drastically change our system and quality of care.
Notice one of the things that is glaringly absent from ObamaCare? That’s right, lawsuit reform, tort reform, if you will. Tort reform alone would see many positive benefits. Cost of care would go down dramatically, not only because doctors wouldn’t have to run so many tests, a CYA measure to protect them if they get sued, but the drastic reductions in malpractice insurance would be passed on as savings to the consumer.
Texas enacted sweeping tort reform in 2003, and the results have been very positive. Doctors have flocked to Texas in droves, many moving to under-served regions. The relationship between the doctor and patient has improved. Costs have been reduced as well.
You can read more about this here and here.
Again, nearly half of these doctors think the conditions created by this Obama caused disaster would force them to leave their profession. I can tell you, as someone who lives in a "hospital town," a city where one of Texas’ largest hospital systems is headquartered, I have yet to talk to anyone in the medical profession who is for ObamaCare in any way shape or form.
Doctors are really worried about a decline in their income, and they should be. These doctors will be paid on a scale that mirrors Medicare. That’s already a money loser, which is why health care costs for everyone else are higher. They have to make up for the losses somewhere. Put the entire industry on that sort of pay plan and it will be unsustainable.
Not surprisingly, 3/4 of those surveyed, 72%, feel this fiasco will effect "physician supply" (the amount of doctors to treat patients) with almost half saying this situation could "worsen dramatically"
Another telling statistic is the fact that over 1/3... 36%, would discourage others from entering the profession! That’s not hard to believe at all. According to Kevin Perpetua, managing partner for the Medicus Firm, the average debt a newly minted doctor enters the real world with is a whopping $140,000. And let’s not even talk about all of the extra time, in years, it takes to become a doctor. It’s hard work.
Being a doctor is a noble profession, one of life’s higher callings, but let’s be real, for $140,000 you can buy a really nice home. Why would someone want to study for a profession that will put them in huge debt before their first job, and make them work long hours, if their financial reward will be shrinking and shrinking, and their working conditions deteriorating? It doesn’t make sense.
Of course, this is most likely why the democrats have added a complete and total takeover of the student loan industry as part of their "health care reform." That’s right, as part of reforming health care, the democrats will outlaw the private student loan business. Only the federal government will be allowed to loan students money for higher education! What could go wrong here?
How long before good old Uncle Sugar starts telling American students what sort of field they must study for? "You want to be an auto mechanic? Sorry sonny, we already have too many of them, how about a nice job in sanitation management!" Think it can’t happen? Go read some history. I suggest a look at the Soviet Union, for starters.
How long before our out of control government declares a "crisis" because half the doctors quit, and decides to not only force students into the medical field (if they want a college education) but demand taxpayers foot the bill? You know, "for the children." My guess, not long.
Oh, and by the way: "You want to live and work in Texas?.....Sorry, they have enough doctors....we need you to move to Massachusetts, if you want a job." Nothing against the Bay State, but.....
Isn’t communism fun!
ObamaCare is a complete and total disaster. As someone else pointed out recently, it will have the efficiency of the Post Office and the compassion of the IRS. The same IRS who just stormed a Sacramento, California car wash to collect 4 cents in back taxes!
We’ve been saying it for a solid year, and will continue to say it. The progressive/communist’s goal in passing this monstrosity is not to provide quality health care for all. Their goal, Obama’s goal, is to gain complete and total control of society through a centralized command and control style of government. This is exactly opposite of the Representative Republic our founders gave us, as outlined by our Constitution.
Progressive/communists, such as those in power in Washington, are psychopaths. They honestly and sincerely believe they are superior to "the little people." This bunch believes that only they have the "enlightened sophistication" to make decisions that effect all of our lives. In other words, they think we are too stupid to think for ourselves, and need their "masterful guidance" in order to survive. They want to control our lives at every level. What we eat, what we drink, what we drive, how we dress, and on, and on. Once started, it will never, ever stop.
Seems like America did quite well without this bunch. American became the envy of the world without them. In fact, many of America’s greatest problems coincide with the start of the progressive/communist movement. Imagine that.
Americans, by nature, love freedom. Our nation was founded on freedom and liberty. The very thought of being shackled by an oppressive, tyrannical government, such as the one Obama and his Congress is offering, no matter how "well intentioned," is hateful.
We simply cannot allow the federal government to continue to usurp the Constitution and our individual rights. The time for talk is long gone. It’s time to act, and act now. It’s time to kill this illegal legislation, and start cleaning house.
We need to cleanse this nation of the progressive/communist movement that threatens our very way of life. We need to vote these people out of power in every election, be it national, statewide, or local. We must take our nation back one precinct at a time, and restore the God given liberty and freedom guaranteed to us in the Constitution.
For more on this latest physician survey, check out CNS News here.
Also, Tammy Bruce has an interesting story from the UK about their "wonderful" health care, and broom closets. Read it here.
UPDATE: Please be aware the New England Journal of Medicine has altered their website, scrubbing the original article, since this the results of this survey was first published. Evidently, the results weren't to someone's liking.
Thanks go to an alert reader, and a doctor of 35 years, for pointing this out.
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