Obama: "You can keep your doctor." Can you? I checked. I can't
Are you particular about which doctor or dentist you see? I am. I believe in a Holistic, natural approach to medicine. A doctor needs to treat the whole person, not just prescribe medication for an isolated symptom. The goal is health, not just making an unpleasant symptom go away.
Some people don't care; any M.D. or D.D.S. will do. But I will pay a higher deductible, co-pay, and/or coinsurance fees just so I can be treated by who I want to see. I pay extra, because it is very important to me. Fortunately my insurance plan allows me to choose.
So when President Obama promises over and over again, "You'll be able to keep your health care plan, period," and "...you like your doctors, you like your plan, you can keep your doctor, you can keep your plan. Nobody is talking about taking that away from you."
Yet he was forced to clarify his promise, "It seems he wasn’t saying 'no one' will take away any American’s health insurance – he was saying the government wouldn’t. Which is not to say that the government wouldn’t create a situation where such a thing would happen."
He also admitted that he hadn't actually read the House bill, which spelled out that in effect, we would lose our doctor and health care plans under his reforms.
Since Obamacare is really just an expansion of Medicaid/Medicare-like plans, I asked my doctor if she took Medicaid/Medicare patients. She said no, unless they paid her directly.
Reason? Medicaid/Medicare insurance requires too much paper work and often doesn't pay enough to cover the services. My doctor is not alone; same is true of my holistic dentist, my former chiropractor, and another holistic doctor I know of. Patients can pay out of pocket, of course, but their government insurance plan is not accepted. My doctor did say she would discount her fees by 25% if the patient paid cash. Other doctors may make similar arrangements.
So how can the President promise that we can keep our doctors under his plan? The language of the House bill states that any change in your current private plan will bump you into the government plan. Since private plans are likely to change somewhat every year, we won't be able to keep them for long.
"What health care legislation on Capitol Hill says": (My emphasis)
If the mandatory insurance coverage language is removed from the bill, creating a larger government program still creates unfair competition for private insurance companies. Medicare/Medicaid insurance dictates certain 20%-30% discounts to doctors and hospitals. How is that fair competition?
So much for keeping your doctor and plan.
Now, will doctors like mine be forced into accepting Medicare/Medicaid patients once everyone is on those plans? Who knows.
What I do know is that my doctors provide very good care and their standard is quality, not quantity. They do not have the meat-market approach to medicine. They will not be able to continue their current level of service under Obamacare.
The health care industry does need improving, but we need MORE choice not less in the type of insurance offered and doctor you see.
Free Our Health Care NOW! Petition
Past post: The Wizard of Obamacare: Pay NO attention to the man behind the curtain!
Some people don't care; any M.D. or D.D.S. will do. But I will pay a higher deductible, co-pay, and/or coinsurance fees just so I can be treated by who I want to see. I pay extra, because it is very important to me. Fortunately my insurance plan allows me to choose.
So when President Obama promises over and over again, "You'll be able to keep your health care plan, period," and "...you like your doctors, you like your plan, you can keep your doctor, you can keep your plan. Nobody is talking about taking that away from you."
Yet he was forced to clarify his promise, "It seems he wasn’t saying 'no one' will take away any American’s health insurance – he was saying the government wouldn’t. Which is not to say that the government wouldn’t create a situation where such a thing would happen."
He also admitted that he hadn't actually read the House bill, which spelled out that in effect, we would lose our doctor and health care plans under his reforms.
Since Obamacare is really just an expansion of Medicaid/Medicare-like plans, I asked my doctor if she took Medicaid/Medicare patients. She said no, unless they paid her directly.
Reason? Medicaid/Medicare insurance requires too much paper work and often doesn't pay enough to cover the services. My doctor is not alone; same is true of my holistic dentist, my former chiropractor, and another holistic doctor I know of. Patients can pay out of pocket, of course, but their government insurance plan is not accepted. My doctor did say she would discount her fees by 25% if the patient paid cash. Other doctors may make similar arrangements.
So how can the President promise that we can keep our doctors under his plan? The language of the House bill states that any change in your current private plan will bump you into the government plan. Since private plans are likely to change somewhat every year, we won't be able to keep them for long.
"What health care legislation on Capitol Hill says": (My emphasis)
- "If you get your health insurance from a large employer, you will not be able to keep your current health insurance. After 5 years, large employers will be required to offer only government approved plans. Government approved plans will not offer treatments that the government refuses to approve because they cost too much relative to the government's determination of value.
- "If you buy your own health insurance from a private insurer, you will lose your insurance if either you or your insurer changes your plan. Need a higher or lower deductible or to add or subtract a family member? Too bad. After the law passes, private insurers will not be allowed to issue any new individual plans.
If the mandatory insurance coverage language is removed from the bill, creating a larger government program still creates unfair competition for private insurance companies. Medicare/Medicaid insurance dictates certain 20%-30% discounts to doctors and hospitals. How is that fair competition?
So much for keeping your doctor and plan.
Now, will doctors like mine be forced into accepting Medicare/Medicaid patients once everyone is on those plans? Who knows.
What I do know is that my doctors provide very good care and their standard is quality, not quantity. They do not have the meat-market approach to medicine. They will not be able to continue their current level of service under Obamacare.
The health care industry does need improving, but we need MORE choice not less in the type of insurance offered and doctor you see.
Free Our Health Care NOW! Petition
Past post: The Wizard of Obamacare: Pay NO attention to the man behind the curtain!
Links:
Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, CNS News, Jay Weber, Mark Levin, Vicki McKenna Jay Weber, The Right View Wisconsin, The Heritage Foundation
Labels: Government/Bureaucracy, Health care, President Obama, Socialism/Marxism, United States
posted by KYLE PRAST | 6:39 AM
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