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Politics : A US National Health Care System? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greatplains_guy who wrote (24148)	7/15/2012 12:39:33 AM
From: puborectalis	1 Recommendation Respond to of 42652

As a Physician I am appalled that people quote this poll from a nonmedical group.There is no proof they ever polled doctors.Totally bogus! Kathryn Serkes is the Co-Founder and Chairman of the Doctor Patient Medical Association (DPMA), a conservative group working to repeal health care reform [1] that calls itself "a nonpartisan association of doctors and patients dedicated to preserving free choice in medicine." [2] The DPMA has ties to the Tea Party Movement. [3]

To: greatplains_guy who wrote (24148)

7/15/2012 1:02:52 AM

From: average joe

Respond to of 42652

They threatened to quit in Canada when Medicare was first introduced but where are they going to go.

The Fight for Medicare

Saskatchewan faces a bitter doctors' strike over Canada's first universal health care plan

"We feel we cannot practice under state-controlled medicine. it seems to me the government has given us no choice but to leave. " - Saskatchewan doctor

Socialist politician Tommy Douglas was the force behind Canada's first universal health insurance plan, enacted in Saskatchewan in 1962. Pictured here, Douglas NDP convention in July 1961. (National Archives of Canada, C-036222)

In the early 1960s, Saskatchewan doctors reacted with anger and frustration, culminating in a bitter strike when the province tried to bring in Canada's first universal health insurance plan.

In Saskatchewan, Premier Tommy Douglas and his socialist party, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), had been in power since 1944 and had been the first government in the country to provide hospital insurance for its citizens.

Now in 1960, with a provincial election looming, Douglas was ready to take the next step and introduce universal, publicly funded medical care - known as medicare - not just in hospitals, but also in clinics and doctors offices.

"Surely the time has come in Saskatchewan ... for us to take this next great forward step and set up in the province of Saskatchewan a pre-paid medical care program."

The attempt to bring medicare to Saskatchewan was the latest in a series of measures adopted across Canada and throughout the western world in the years after the Second World War. The measures were based on the premise that governments owed their citizens a reasonable standard of living and access to basic services.

But Saskatchewan doctors complained that they would be turned into civil servants, unable to follow their own judgment about what was best for their patients. They argued that medicare was another step down a slippery socialistic slope

"This is like asking the doctors if they would like to try a hanging and if they didn't like it, it could be undone!," said a Saskatchewan doctor.

The Saskatchewan Liberals, led by Ross Thatcher, backed the doctors and attacked Douglas.

"The socialists say, elect us, even with a 35 per cent majority, and we will ram a scheme down your throat."

Douglas was bitterly opposed by the provinces physicians and private health-care insurers. Despite the $115,000 spent during the election on an anti--medicare campaign, Douglas and the CCF won a commanding majority and a clear mandate to proceed. Douglas would soon leave for Ottawa in 1961 to lead the newly formed New Democratic Party, but his provincial successor Woodrow Lloyd would continue the medicare fight.

After a long debate, the law was adopted in November 1961, to take effect the following July 1. The day medicare was born, about 90 per cent of the provinces doctors went on strike.

Initially the doctors had some public support. These KOD (Keep Our Doctors) Committees, with support from the media, launched a well-organized campaign against the government and the medicare plan. Rallies, petitions, panels and advertisements raised the emotional climate to a white heat.

The people of Saskatchewan began to worry. Some wondered what good was a medical care program without doctors.

"Im very glad that the plan has gone in," said one resident. "but Im deeply concerned over the fact that my doctor left me and two children without any proper medical care."

Families with health problems were even more alarmed by the strike.

"I have a family of 5 little girls, one girl is suffering from cerebral palsy," said one father. "Where will I take my daughter? To Montreal? Will the government pay me transportation? Where will I go, tell me!"

The government brought doctors from Britain and encouraged others to come from the US and other parts of Canada to meet the emergency. Local citizens groups organized medical clinics and hired doctors to attend them.

By mid-July much of the KOD support had dissipated. Some doctors were returning to work; the force of the strike was spent. At the beginning of August, the government made some amendments to the Act; one amendment allowed doctors to practice outside the plan.

After 23 days on strike, the Saskatchewan doctors returned to work. But hostilities remained long afterwards; patients resented their doctors' desertion and doctors continued to object to government involvement in medical care. Nevertheless, a 1965 survey found that most doctors favoured continuing the plan.

The Saskatchewan government had opened the door to universal health care. Within ten years of the Saskatchewan strike, the entire country was covered by medicare.

cbc.ca

To: greatplains_guy who wrote (24148)	7/15/2012 9:09:44 AM
From: Alastair McIntosh	1 Recommendation Respond to of 42652

Do you really believe 83% of docs are considering quitting? I was going to ignore this, but too many of you are asking me about it: Eighty-three percent of American physicians have considered leaving their practices over President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, according to a survey released by the Doctor Patient Medical Association. The DPMA, a non-partisan association of doctors and patients, surveyed a random selection of 699 doctors nationwide. The survey found that the majority have thought about bailing out of their careers over the legislation, which was upheld last month by the Supreme Court. I don’t even know where to start with this. How about with the DPMA? Here is their “ non-partisan” stance on the PPACA: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was signed in to law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. Doctor Patient Medical Association believes this law, with over 12,000 pages of new laws and regulations giving sweeping new powers to political appointees like the HHS Secretary and IRS is detrimental to the medical freedom of medical professionals and patients. It is DPMA’s position that PPACA is the Destruction Of Our Medicine, attempting to insert the government and bureaucrats between the relationship and decisions of medical professional and their patient. By the way, their “position” makes the acronym DOOM. Unbiased! Getting past that, their methodology is not very detailed. Their response rate is small. Their questions are oddly phrased and not symmetric. Let’s get past even that. Let’s just take the top line result. Does it pass the smell test? Do you really believe that 83% of doctors are considering quitting because of the ACA? Do you really believe that only 17% of docs are NOT considering quitting? Really? Anecdotally, I’ve heard of no physicians whatsoever who are quitting; I work with a lot of docs. But let’simagine my experience is abnormal. Remember that about 20% of physicians make an earning placing them in the top 1% of the country. Medicine, above any other profession, is more likely to earn you that much. This survey would have you believe that more than 80% of us are willing to throw all that away, just because of the ACA. What will all those doctors do? If you believe what they complain about in the media, they’re just squeaking by. They’re not “wealthy”. The job market is terrible, no? What magic high-paying jobs do you think they will get? Or is it more likely this is just posturing from a potentially biased group, and not a real prediction of what will acually occur? theincidentaleconomist.com