A recent survey of New York doctors reveals that they are adamantly opposed to the president’s signature healthcare law, and some are simply refusing to participate in ObamaCare.
The New York Post reports, “A poll conducted by the New York State Medical Society finds that 44 percent of MDs said they are not participating in the nation’s new healthcare plan.”
An additional 33 percent stated that they are unsure whether they will become ObamaCare providers.
Just 23 percent of the 409 doctors surveyed indicated they would be taking patients who have signed up through the ObamaCare healthcare exchanges.
“This is so poorly designed that a lot of doctors are afraid to participate,” observed Dr. Sam Unterricht, president of the 29,000-member New York Medical Society. “There’s a lot of resistance. Doctors don’t know what they’re going to get paid.”
Three out of four doctors stated that they are being forced to participate because of existing contractual obligations with an insurer, while only one in four of them “affirmatively” chose to sign up for the exchanges.
Approximately 77 percent of those surveyed stated that they were not provided a fee schedule that explains how much they will be paid if they sign up.
According to the New York Post, the doctors were more than happy to participate in the survey which allowed them to vent their anger about the new law.
“ObamaCare wants to start right away, but who see all these new patients???? Not me,” e-mailed one doctor. Another said, “I plan to retire if this disaster is implemented. This is a train wreck.” A third responded, “I refuse to participate in the exchange plans! I am completely opposed to this new law.”
One doctor seized upon a well known mantra: “The solution is simple: Just say no.”
One harassed medical man threatened to take only patients who pay cash for his services. “I am seriously considering opting out of all insurance plans including Medicare because of [ObamaCare],” he asserted.
And despite assurances by the Obama administration to the contrary, some doctors have stated that the increased pressure on insurance carriers to control costs is already leading to rationed care.
“ObamaCare is a disaster,” one doctor opined. “I have already seen denial of medication, denial of referrals.”
The doctors surveyed also voiced concerns regarding the stingy payments offered by insurers for medical services, fearing that they may be forced into retirement.
“Any doctor who accepts the exchange is just a bad businessman/woman. Pays terrible,” argued one doctor.
Another angry physician declared, “Can’t imagine any doctors would be willing to work for so little money. All doctors should boycott.”
According to those surveyed, they’ve already had difficulties getting paid by insurance companies even before the new healthcare law, and now with ObamaCare, they fully expect a quantum leap in those difficulties.
Other doctors declared that they do not even have enough information to make an informed decision. “This is a joke. We are flying blind,” one doctor complained.
The results of the survey reveal that more doctors are opposed to the healthcare law than the administration would have the American people believe.
A few years ago, President Obama surrounded himself with doctors during a ceremony in the Rose Garden when he was campaigning for public support for his Affordable Care Act. Additionally, the American Medical Association endorsed the president’s law, a fact that was touted at every juncture.
But despite those efforts to give the impression that the healthcare law was widely embraced by the medical community, approximately 70 percent of doctors disagreed with the AMA’s position on health reform, according to a 2011 survey, with just 13 percent supporting it. In fact, half of those doctors cited the AMA’s stance on ObamaCare as the factor that caused them to drop their AMA membership.
More recent studies reveal that there has been little change. In February 2012, 60 percent of 5,000 doctors surveyed stated that the healthcare law would negatively impact patient care, with only 22 percent stating it would have a positive impact.
In an October 2012 survey that asked, “Which of the following best describes your feelings about the ACA?,” 55 percent of the 3,000 doctors questioned chose “repeal and replace.” Another 40 percent responded “implement and improve” it.
Further evidence that ObamaCare is disliked among those in the medical community includes a recent lawsuit filed against the healthcare law by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS).
The lawsuit focuses on President Obama’s decision to delay the employer mandate, an act that is in violation of the Constitution. According to the AAPS website, in doing so, the president has “rewritten Obamacare to put the entire [financial] burden on our patients. That is unconstitutional.”
The AAPS website also features a letter by Dr. Richard Amerling, renowned academic nephrologist at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, wherein he states:
There are compelling reasons for patients to opt out of Obamacare, Medicaid, and even Medicare. The most important reason is poor access to high quality physicians. Few of these currently accept Medicaid patients, and more each day are declining to accept new Medicare patients. A large element of the Obamacare strategy is to expand Medicaid to families with incomes well above the poverty line. A silver lining in the otherwise horrendous Roberts court decision upholding Obamacare is the ability of states to refuse to expand Medicaid, and a large number have taken advantage of this.
Dr. Amerling concludes that participation in ObamaCare will not only prove to be costly, but will also significantly reduce access to quality medical care, as well as leaving participants susceptible to identity theft and loss of confidentiality.
Rude awakenings are also among the fallout following the launch of the new healthcare law. For instance, elderly patients are now learning that their current doctors will no longer be covered by their insurance companies, and are being forced to find new doctors.
The New York Post reports,
New York State Medical Society President Sam Unterricht is demanding a congressional probe after learning that one health carrier alone, UnitedHealthcare, is terminating contracts with up to 2,100 doctors serving 8,000 Medicare Advantage patients in the New York metro region.
And of course the actual costs associated with the healthcare law will be staggering. In fact, some analysts have asserted that the failures associated with Healthcare.gov are a result of the government’s unwillingness to allow users to see the true costs of ObamaCare.
“Healthcare.gov was initially going to include an option to browse before registering,” report Christopher Weaver and Louise Radnofsky in the Wall Street Journal. “But that tool was delayed, people familiar with the situation said.”
And why was that provision delayed? “An HHS [Health and Human Services] spokeswoman said the agency wanted to ensure that users were aware of their eligibility for subsidies that could help pay for coverage, before they started seeing the prices of policies.”
It is for these reasons and many more that physician-turned lawmaker Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) declared the healthcare law to be the most dangerous piece of legislation ever passed by Congress, adding that he is not drawing comparisons to archaic laws such as those related to slavery that are no longer in effect.
“The primary care doctors are more dispirited today that I’ve ever seen them in history,” Fleming stated on CNN. He said he continues to hear “horror stories” from constituents about the health law. “It’s really terrible what’s going on out there,” he added.
It appears those horror stories may not be subsiding any time soon.
