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Biotech / Medical : IMAT - ultrafast tomography for coronary artery disease -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lee Kennedy who wrote (2622)	7/19/1998 1:11:00 AM
From: Angel Medina	Respond to of 3725

Hi Lee: Delighted to know you are still on the ship. I, too found Steve and Maxine's efforts, and notes very helpful and encouraging. Fine job !!! However, a little sad because the centers are up for sale. If memory serves me right, you were very bullish on the centers also. As likable as Mr. Meyer is, I only believe half of what tells stockholders, not because he means to lie, he is a fine man no doubt, but we've heard these bullish predictions before, only to be disappointed. The Accu-Image photos re-referred to a few posts back are nice, but done on 5/21/96, I would like to see more recent ones. You as a physician most likely have seen recent scans with all the new bells and whistles. I wish Imatron would put them up on the thread, it might help the stock a little. Please be well !!!

To: Lee Kennedy who wrote (2622)	7/19/1998 11:16:00 AM
From: Bruce Rozenblit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3725

Glad to see you are still here too. I would like to take a moment to bring up an issue I raised months ago because of the current political situation. The HMO's are being pounded on in Washington now. It's a hot topic as there is widespread dissatisfaction. Now is the time the congress people will listen. One of the biggest problems Imat has is getting universal insurance coverage which is crucial for major success. The problem is structural in how health care is delivered. The primary focus of how HMO's make money is by deferring costs. Push as many expenditures as far into the future as possible. Cost containment is implemented by cost deferment. Most people have their health plan paid for by their employer. People change jobs every 2 or 3 years and employers changes HMO's as often as every year. Who ever saves them a buck gets the contract this year. The scanner can predict the likelihood of a heart attack with a high degree of accuracy but it can't tell you WHEN. The event may occur 3, 5 or even 10 years later. The system only wants to fix full blown problems like a broken arm or tumor, not spend money for prevention. BECAUSE: If the HMO pays for a triple bypass and then you change jobs next year, their competition is greatly benefited by the subsidy. If you aren't treated and then change jobs and have a massive heart attack or drop dead, then the competition is hurt. There is no incentive to use the scanner because its major cost saving is realized over the life of the patient, not over the duration of the job. The problem is caused by insurance following the job instead of the patient. I am writing my representatives about this problem, and I suggest that everyone else does too. They are focused on the issue. We need legislation to restructure health insurance so it is more like house or car insurance, it stays with the person so long term cost saving measures can be realized. Otherwise, the scanner doesn't save any money as far as the accountants are concerned.