Continue reading The Doctor Is In: Focus on prevention would help pay for health reform

The Doctor Is In: Focus on prevention would help pay for health reform originally appeared on DailyFinance on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading The Doctor Is In: Are seniors funding health care reform?

The Doctor Is In: Are seniors funding health care reform? originally appeared on DailyFinance on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Senate Finance Committee voted this week to pass its health care reform bill, paving the way for Congress to approve landmark legislation this fall.

While no one is saying the bill is perfect, it's clearly a step in the right direction. "Is this bill all that I would want?" asked Olympia Snowe, the lone Republican who voted for it. "Far from it. Is it all that it can be? No. But when history calls, history calls. And I happen to think that the consequences of inaction dictate the urgency of Congress to take every opportunity to demonstrate its capacity to solve the monumental issues of our time."

Continue reading The Doctor Is In: Senate health care reform bill is a step in the right direction

The Doctor Is In: Senate health care reform bill is a step in the right direction originally appeared on DailyFinance on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you haven't seen the new video produced by the political advocacy group, MoveOn.org featuring Will Ferrell, it's worth watching -- and not only because it's hilarious. While the video is a spoof intended to muster support for the ailing "public option," the hyperbole contains a grain of truth.

A group of actors make the case that "As the health care debate heats up, we need to remember who the real victims are: health insurance executives." Asks Ferrell: "Why is Obama trying to reform health care when insurance companies are doing just fine making billions of dollars in profits?"

Continue reading The Doctor Is In: How health insurers hinder health care reform

The Doctor Is In: How health insurers hinder health care reform originally appeared on DailyFinance on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A familiar face appeared on the television screen while I was watching Anderson Cooper 360º last week. An obstetrician, who had delivered the babies of a friend of mine and his wife (both physicians), was telling the story of a patient whose uterus had burst during labor -- a medical emergency that can result in death if not handled immediately and properly.

The doctor performed a hysterectomy and, after what sounded like a harrowing experience, both mother and baby were fine. The doctor described how she was so concerned for her patient's well-being that she cancelled her office appointments for several days to spend time at the patient's bedside and monitor her care.

Continue reading Why we need medical malpractice reform

Why we need medical malpractice reform originally appeared on DailyFinance on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nine months after taking office, President Obama outlined his plan for overhauling the nation's health care system in a speech before Congress on Wednesday. It was long overdue.

Sixty-seven percent of respondents to a CBS News poll released last week said they didn't have a clear understanding of health care reform ideas because they found them too confusing. One of the reasons Americans are so puzzled is that President Obama hasn't done a good job explaining why we need reform or how his strategy will help fix the problem. His message got lost in translation.

Continue reading Finally, healthcare reform in plain English

Finally, healthcare reform in plain English originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the beginning, there was Sarah Palin. who warned that the proposed health care reform bill called for the creation of "death panels" to decide whether an elderly patient gets to live or die. Then, along came Rush Limbaugh, who referred to the bill as "a Hitler-like policy." Now, critics of the plan are barnstorming town hall style meetings during the congressional recess to protest "Obamacare."

It's one thing for angry citizens to interrupt civic meetings and another for well-known public figures to grossly distort the facts. I am reluctant to use the word "lies," but it's hard to avoid the l-word when talking about the accusations that there is a covert governmental plan to kill off the elderly. I guess the accepted word for this sort of gross misrepresentation is "spin."

Continue reading The Doctor Is In: Distorting the facts on health care

The Doctor Is In: Distorting the facts on health care originally appeared on DailyFinance on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Medicare, which insures the elderly and disabled, had 45 million beneficiaries and total expenditures of $468 billion in 2008. As baby boomers age, and more adults become eligible for Medicare, costs will expand further and some have predicted that the program will go bankrupt. But it's already in trouble.

If you really want to get a handle on how much Medicare is contributing to the rising costs of health care, Dr. Atul Gawande's thought-provoking New Yorker article is a must-read. When Gawande visited McAllen, Texas, one of the most expensive health care markets in the country, he learned that per capita spending on Medicare is $15,000, more than twice the national average. Gawande compared the costs in McAllen with those near the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota -- which were less than $7,000 per person.

Continue reading 10 Reasons to Reform Health Care Now: Medicare is a ticking bomb

10 Reasons to Reform Health Care Now: Medicare is a ticking bomb originally appeared on DailyFinance on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The health care debate heating up in Washington makes most people really nervous, and rightfully so. At this point, the plan is complicated and the benefits have not been clearly conveyed, which is one reason Americans seem to be less pleased with the way President Obama is handling the issue, judging by recent polls.

During last night's prime time news conference, the president made a convincing argument for spending a trillion dollars on health care reform in the midst of a severe recession, after already committing to an enormous economic stimulus package. He explained how health care reform is crucial to his plan to rejuvenate the economy, and he made it clear that "health insurance reform will not add to the deficit." While that's reassuring, many people will likely remain wary until they learn how the plan relates to their own lives.

Continue reading Calculating the costs and benefits of health care reform

Calculating the costs and benefits of health care reform originally appeared on DailyFinance on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Of all the problems with the current health care system, perhaps the most insidious is that the system is fueled by special interest groups, whose chief concern is their own bottom line.

There are a lot of hands in the pot: insurance companies, drug makers, hospitals, device and equipment manufacturers, and yes, doctors. They all pay lobbyists huge sums of money to convince legislators to maintain the status quo, or to draft legislation in their favor. But unless these groups agree on a solution that will overhaul our system, costs will continue to rise and the quality of care will fall.

Continue reading Reform Health Care Now: Special interest groups shouldn't call the shots

Reform Health Care Now: Special interest groups shouldn't call the shots originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not one of his multiple medical problems alone was terminal, but the ten different conditions affecting nearly every system of his body, slowly but steadily took their toll. His physicians spent most of their time putting out the latest fire. The best hope was that they would be able to stabilize him and send him back to a nursing home. There was virtually no chance of regaining his ability to function at a high level. Over time, we hoped that he would find the strength to make it home, and there were some signs that this might happen. Then one day, things spiraled in the wrong direction, and the end came relatively quickly and painlessly.

Continue reading Reform Health Care Now: End-of-life costs are too high

Reform Health Care Now: End-of-life costs are too high originally appeared on DailyFinance on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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House Democrats unveiled the first draft of their bill to overhaul the nation's ailing health care system last week. The most controversial proposal is the establishment of a government-run health insurance plan to compete with private health insurance plans.

Depending on whom you listen to, the plan is either a death knoll for the Americans' freedom or a savior for an out of control, costly health care system. Most likely, it is neither. Instead, it's a crucial step toward restructuring our complex, costly and ailing health care system. And it seems like the best solution -- or at least a necessary evil -- if we aim to insure all Americans and bring down costs.

Continue reading In defense of the public health plan

In defense of the public health plan originally appeared on DailyFinance on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I know people who claim they'd rather live the good life now and drop dead a little early than eat tofu, drink green tea and live to be 90.

But what if you don't get the "good," quick and painless death from a heart attack that you imagined? Instead, choosing an unhealthy lifestyle may mean you spend your last years confined to a wheelchair in a nursing home, unable to speak because of a stroke.

Continue reading Reform Health Care Now: We need to practice preventive medicine

Reform Health Care Now: We need to practice preventive medicine originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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To obstetricians, gynecologists and many other physicians, one of the most glaring omissions in the current health care reform debate is the failure to address the medical liability crisis. Medical liability has increased the cost of health care and forced many doctors to limit or give up their practices.

Though this has been a contentious issue for many years, will the Democrats finally address the problem, or conveniently sweep it under the rug rather than risk losing the long-standing support of the trial lawyer lobby?

Continue reading Reform Health Care Now: The malpractice liability crisis persists

Reform Health Care Now: The malpractice liability crisis persists originally appeared on DailyFinance on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Reform Health Care Now: Insurance reimbursements make no sense

Reform Health Care Now: Insurance reimbursements make no sense originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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My wife has undergone routine mammograms for nearly a decade because her paternal grandmother died at age 34 of breast cancer. For several years, radiologists ordered a breast ultrasound in addition to the mammogram to follow what everyone was confident was a benign lymph node in one of the breasts. But this January, the results showed that the lymph node may have changed by a millimeter or two. Though the doctors' suspicions had not changed very much, the radiologist ordered an MRI, a highly sensitive test that examines the breast in another way. Though I questioned the necessity of the test, and witnessed firsthand the anxiety it caused my wife, I certainly didn't want to argue with her -- or question her doctors.

Fifteen hundred images later, we received word that it was "probably" an enlarged lymph node. But just to be safe, another MRI in six months was ordered. The charged amount for the procedure was over $5,000, of which we ended up paying $3,000 because we had not yet met yearly our deductible.

Continue reading Reform Health Care Now: The current system emphasizes quantity over quality

Reform Health Care Now: The current system emphasizes quantity over quality originally appeared on DailyFinance on Wed, 20 May 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At a White House meeting on Monday, health care industry leaders vowed to trim $2 trillion from the nation's health care spending over the next decade. It remains to be seen whether these people, representing insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and doctors, keep their promise. After all, we've been down this road before, with the major stakeholders in the system offering "voluntary" cost-cutting measures. Still, it is a sign that even health industry leaders realize that the recession has turned a chronic problem into what we in the medical field call an emergent situation.

The 10-second version of the nation's health care crisis is that unemployment has led to massive numbers of uninsured (as I pointed out in the last installment), which puts a tremendous strain on the system, driving up the cost of care and coverage for everyone, which, in turn, adds to the rolls of uninsured.

Continue reading Reform Health Care Now: The economy is making the crisis worse

Reform Health Care Now: The economy is making the crisis worse originally appeared on DailyFinance on Wed, 13 May 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A few months ago, one of my patients approached me with a dilemma. She had been laid off from her job, but had let her employer-sponsored health insurance lapse without signing up for COBRA, which allows terminated employees to pay to continue their health insurance coverage with their previous employer for up to 18 months. She didn't qualify for government-sponsored insurance because she had a small family savings account. And she was unable to get an individual policy because at that moment she had what insurers classify a "pre-existing condition": She was pregnant.

When my patient asked me how much it would cost to deliver her baby in the hospital, I explained that a normal delivery would cost about $15,000, but if she ended up having a C-section she could easily wind up with a $30,000 bill. And her tab could top $100,000 if she had a premature baby requiring care in the NICU. Having a baby could not only wipe out her savings, it could land her in bankruptcy.

Continue reading Reform Health Care Now: 87 million uninsured, and growing

Reform Health Care Now: 87 million uninsured, and growing originally appeared on DailyFinance on Thu, 07 May 2009 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The first in an exclusive 10-part series on the nation's health care crisis.

Since taking office in January, President Obama has made it clear that overhauling the nation's health care system is one of his top priorities. Naysayers argue that the new President is tackling too much too soon in light of the current global economic crisis. Others maintain the President's plan is too ambitious and that our health care system just needs a tune-up.

As a physican on the front lines of the nation's health care crisis, I don't think these critics are wrong. I know they are. That's why I've channeled my inner David Letterman and come up with a Top 10 list of reasons Congress would be foolish not to take the President up on his challenge and put health care reform at the very front of its agenda this spring.

Continue reading Reform Health Care Now: Syrocketing costs are choking American businesses

Reform Health Care Now: Syrocketing costs are choking American businesses originally appeared on DailyFinance on Fri, 01 May 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In February, an internist in suburban New York, Dr. Richard Klein, ran an ad in a local Pennysaver advertising free medical care for existing patients who had lost their jobs and had no health insurance. Yes, I said free -- no strings attached.

Crises in malpractice insurance and reduced reimbursements for doctors over the past 10 to 20 years have left many physicians dissatisfied with their profession. Overall, medical care has also become more impersonal and, as a result, less enjoyable.

Continue reading The Doctor Is In: Out of work? Ask your physician for a discount

The Doctor Is In: Out of work? Ask your physician for a discount originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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