The ObamaCare preview that Massachusetts has been conducting for the last several years grows more ominous by the month, not that anyone in Washington is paying attention. So let's check on the Bay State's latest warning, coming soon to a hospital or medical practice near you.More:
A new survey released yesterday by the Massachusetts Medical Society reveals that fewer than half of the state's primary care practices are accepting new patients, down from 70% in 2007, before former Governor Mitt Romney's health-care plan came online. The average wait time for a routine checkup with an internist is 48 days. It takes 43 days to secure an appointment with a gastroenterologist for chronic heartburn, up from 36 last year, and 41 days to see an OB/GYN, up from 34 last year.
• Emergency room visits jumped 9% between 2004 and 2008, in part due to the lack of routine access to providers.
• Merely 43% of internists and 56% of family physicians accept Commonwealth Care, the heavily subsidized middle-class insurance program. The same respective figures are 53% and 62% for price-controlled Medicaid.
• The Medical Society also finds “a continued deterioration of the practice environment for physicians in Massachusetts.”
The Journal concludes: “Perhaps you should book your checkups now, in advance of the national sequel.”
Hi John,
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting.
I would recommend this book
http://www.amazon.com/Why-ObamaCare-Wrong-America-Constitutional/dp/0062076019/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1305045560&sr=1-1
which I am just now finishing.
It is amazing how EVERYONE will be hurt by this approach.
Let's pray it is defeated by whatever means.
Peace.
Thanks for the recommendation Constantine -- it appears to have some very good reviews, and it can be purchased used for around $7.00.
ReplyDeleteHi John,
ReplyDeleteI thought I might post some of the issues from the book I mentioned, with your approval. I will break them down for ease of reading.
1. Obamacare will increase unemployment:
a. “A fledgling insurance company in Virginia called nHealth was a very early casualty of ObamaCare. It shut down after investors concluded that it wasn’t possible to navigate the maze of the new ObamaCare regulations and still succeed. Other companies have announced that they are going to stop selling health insurance altogether.” P. 5
b. “It’s also already affecting hospitals. In late December, construction was halted on forty-five new physician-owned hospitals that were shut down directly as a result of the new law. If they weren’t completed and certified by December 31, 2010, they would not be able to bill Medicare. These privately owned hospitals lost out to powerful hospital groups trying to eliminate the competition.” P. 6
c. “If you have one hundred employees, your fine would be $140,000—each and every year. It’s no wonder that employers are hesitant to hire new workers with this job-destroying mandate hanging over their heads.” P. 27
d. “If the insurance you offer is deemed “unaffordable” for him or her and your employee gets subsidized health insurance through the exchange, you would pay a penalty of $3,000 a year for that employee. This especially discourages employers from hiring lower-wage workers, who are certain to qualify for subsidies.” P. 27
Constantine, I appreciate the summaries. There's a lot to this that we're just not aware of.
ReplyDeleteI agree, John and would encourage you, as you are able to read this book.
ReplyDeleteHere is a second installment:
2. Obamacare will create a nation of law breakers:
a. “Think about it: tens of billions of dollars in financing for the new law depends in part on a sufficient number of persons remaining uninsured and paying a penalty for breaking the law.” P. 35
b. “This is unbelievable! Is ObamaCare going to create a nation of outlaws? You can’t have a civil society and a functioning democracy when laws are so onerous that millions of people decide to break them.” P. 51
Peace.