If You Like You Doctor
Stanley Feld M.D.,FACP,MACE
This is a message for the Republican majorities in the House and Senate. Obamacare is a disaster built on a failed ideology, deceptions and lies.
Obamacare started off with lies and continues to deceive the American public.
Its emotional seductions have also deceived many physicians.
All one has to remember is Jonathan Gruber’s statement about the lack of transparency being a powerful political tool. Gruber said given the lack of transparency, the public is too stupid to figure out the truth.
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President Obama told us; ”If you like your doctor you can keep you doctor, period.”
This statement was not true for an instant. President Obama knew it but ideology trumps reality. Many have blamed Obamacare’s failure on President Obama’s inexperience as a manager. This is not the reason.
The failed progressive ideology of big government controlling choices and freedoms of the American people is the reason for Obamacare’s failure.
Last week, Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) admitted the passage of Obamacare was a mistake. Not surprisingly, the mainstream traditional media has not mentioned Schumer’s admission.
The mainstream media has been a shill for Democrats and President Obama. It has helped the Obama administration keep the truth from the American public.
President Obama keeps the American public uninformed with the help from the traditional mainstream media. His goal is central government control of Americans’ choices and freedoms. President Obama’s support is derived from his appeal to Americans’ emotions and not from the facts.
His problem is Americans are not stupid. They can separate reality from appearance when they pay attention. Obamacare is now affecting them directly and they are paying attention.
President Obama is waking up the sleeping tiger of Patient Power.
Obamacare is failing, but Obama’s lies keep coming. One recent lie is Obamacare’s open enrollment period is going well. I have shown evidence to the contrary in my last blog. So far the administration is 50% behind their estimated sign ups.
Confirmed 2015 QHPs: 884,354 as of 12/04/14
Estimated 2015 QHPs (Cumulative):11/21: 610K (462K HC.gov) • 11/28: 1.02M (765K HC.gov) 12/05: 1.50M (1.12M HC.gov) (special: 1.64M / 1.23M HCgov)
Thru 12/06: 1.57M (1.18M HC.gov)
The biggest lie, since “you can keep your doctor, period” is that healthcare spending is decreasing because of Obamacare. This lie is a complicated lie. It is important to understand this lie.
Obamacare is not lowering healthcare spending. It is increasing healthcare spending. Premiums and out of pocket costs are increasing for consumers.
As a result of Obamacare deductibles have increased beyond affordability. Consumers cannot afford to utilize their “healthcare insurance” until absolutely necessary. The result will be higher costs when patients are forced to use the insurance because of the development of complications from a chronic disease.
“The Bureau of Economic Analysis issued its advance estimate of first-quarter growth in 2014, which barely made it into the black with an annualized GDP growth rate of 0.1 percent.
Healthcare spending rose at an annualized rate of 9.9 percent, far outstripping inflation and standing in stark contrast to other components of the BEA report.
Exports fell 7.6 percent, and demand for imports declined by 1.4 percent. Consumer consumption rose 3.0 percent, but that came in part from the high rate of health-care spending.
Without the spending on health care in 2014 Q1, annualized GDP would have dropped to a recessionary -1.0 percent, according to economist Ian Shepherdson.”
In 2008, pre Obamacare, the US had seen a drift downward in health-care spending.
The downward trend began to reverse as Obamacare first officially launched in October 2013. In the fourth quarter of 2013, health-care spending rose 5.6 percent, far above the 2.6 percent growth rate of the economy, to which it significantly contributed.
The New York Times writes article after article claiming that the cost of healthcare is decreasing. The implication is that Obamacare is working.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
“The rapid increase in spending does not indicate that the system is working to lower costs, an absurd if not Orwellian construct by President Obama.
“Nor is the debate “over,” no matter how many times Obama claims otherwise. Too bad the White House chose not to take advice from National Journal’s Ron Fournier.
“The president risks insulting a vast majority of Americans by dismissing their concerns with a consultant's talking point,” Fournier wrote before the economic figures were released, “and Obama can't afford any more blows to his credibility.”
Consumers are tired of President Obama’s lies. He has lost all credibility with the American public.
The Obama administration keeps telling us how well Obamacare’s Accountable Care Organizations are doing. The Obama administration keeps saying hospital systems must set up integrated healthcare systems (ACOs) to increase the quality of care.
As a result of losing money hospital systems are dropping out of the federal ACO program.
President Obama refuses to believe that even though the ACO model sounds great its successful execution is difficult to impossible.
The chances for ACOs to succeed is not only dependent on the hospital system’s ability to decrease utilization, it is heavily dependent on patients taking responsibility for their own care. Patients must follow instructions.
President Obama believes he can lie his way out of reality. The American public is not buying these lies any more.
Republicans must focus on the reasons for the obvious failures of Obamacare.
Consumers want to have freedom of choice. They do not want the government to control them.
Republican must focus on creating programs to provide incentives for consumers to be in control and responsible for their health and healthcare dollars.
Republican must focus on ways to permit consumers “to keep their doctors if they like their doctors period.”
My ideal medical saving account will do all of the above.
The opinions expressed in the blog “Repairing The Healthcare System” are, mine and mine alone
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