What if 83% of American Doctors gave up their practice, rather than suffer through the Politboro-driven coming catastrophe known as Obamacare?

Can you imagine?

The Doctors surveyed by the Doctor  Patient Medical Association can…and they’ve threatened to do just that.

ABOUT THE SURVEY

The survey was conducted by fax and online from April 18 to May 22, 2012. DPMAF obtained the office fax numbers of 36,000 doctors in active clinical practice, and 16, 227 faxes were successfully delivered. Doctors were asked to return their completed surveys by fax, or online at a web address included in the faxed copy. Browser rules prevented doctors from filing duplicate surveys, and respondents were asked to provide personal identification for verification. The response rate was 4.3% for a total of 699 completed surveys.

SURVEY RESPONDENTS

Doctors from 45 states responded, in addition to 130 who did not provide their geographical information.

Most are in solo or small group practice (81%) and office-based (89%) versus hospital-based (11%).

Most of the doctors are mid-career (77%) and have been in practice between 11 and 30 years.

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS:

• Almost unanimous that medicine is on the wrong track, and overwhelmingly blame the government;
• Government-imposed solutions (PPACA, electronic health information) destined to fail;
• Highest numbers ever opting out of Medicare or refuse Medicaid;
• Vacuum in leadership in medical profession, feel abandoned by AMA & organized medicine;
• Corporate medicine (including hospital and insurance companies) is intentionally trying to destroy private practice;
• Doctors are pessimistic – failing financially & assume things will worsen;
• See doctors and patients as the solution – not government;
• Believe direct payment by patients will restore accountability & patient control;
• Restored autonomy, elimination of government involvement, increased patient responsibility and free market reforms are solutions.

KEY FINDINGS

• 90% say the medical system is on the WRONG TRACK
• 83% say they are thinking about QUITTING
• 61% say the system challenges their ETHICS
• 85% say the patient-physician relationship is in a TAILSPIN
• 65% say GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT is most to blame for current problems
• 72% say individual insurance mandate will NOT result in improved access care
• 49% say they will STOP accepting Medicaid patients
• 74% say they will STOP ACCEPTING Medicare patients, or leave Medicare completely
• 52% say they would rather treat some Medicaid/Medicare patient for FREE
• 57% give the AMA a FAILING GRADE representing them
• 1 out of 3 doctors is HESITANT to voice their opinion
• 2 out of 3 say they are JUST SQUEAKING BY OR IN THE RED financially
• 95% say private practice is losing out to CORPORATE MEDICINE
• 80% say DOCTORS/MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS are most likely to help solve things
• 70% say REDUCING GOVERNMENT would be single best fix.

The Republic of Texas stated its intentions concerning Obamacare, yesterday…in no uncertain terms: 

Governor Rick Perry said on Monday Texas will not implement an expansion of the Medicaid program or create a health insurance exchange, placing the state with the highest percentage of people without insurance outside key parts of President Barack Obama’s signature law.

The announcement makes Texas the most populous state that has rejected the provisions. Some 6.2 million people are without health insurance in Texas, or 24.6 percent of the state population, the highest percentage in the nation. California has more people without insurance but a lower percentage.

Perry joined fellow Republican governors of Florida, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Mississippi and Louisiana in rejecting the two provisions of the law, according to americanhealthline.com. They hope that November elections will result in Republicans winning the White House and enough seats in Congress to repeal the law.

“I will not be party to socializing healthcare and bankrupting my state in direct contradiction to our Constitution and our founding principles of limited government,” Perry said in a statement.

He sent a letter on Monday to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking her to relay the message to Obama that Perry opposes the provisions “because both represent brazen intrusions into the sovereignty of our state.”

“I stand proudly with the growing chorus of governors who reject the Obamacare power grab. Neither a ‘state’ exchange nor the expansion of Medicaid under this program would result in better ‘patient protection’ or in more ‘affordable care,'” said Perry, who dropped out of the Republican presidential race in January. “They would only make Texas a mere appendage of the federal government when it comes to health care.”

Sebelius spokesman Keith Maley said the department “will continue to work with states to ensure they have the flexibility and resources they need to implement” the law known formally as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Meanwhile, the House Republicans are sending a message of their own:

House Republicans this week are launching what some believe is a quixotic push to repeal the health care overhaul, in the latest display of campaign-messaging theater.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., announced that the House of Representatives would vote to repeal the entire Affordable Care Act after the Supreme Court issued its 5-4 decision to uphold the law.

The opening act begins with a House Rules Committee hearing late Monday afternoon. Members of the panel will set the parameters for the repeal bill’s floor consideration.

Floor debate commences Tuesday in Act II. Expect a long series of speeches from both sides praising or condemning the legislation.

The actual vote on the repeal bill will come Wednesday. The tally will likely fall along party lines much in the same way as the legislation passed in 2010. Not a single Republican voted in favor of the health care overhaul while 34 moderate House Democrats voted no.

This may prove to be a difficult vote for centrist Democrats facing tough reelection battles. Watch for members of the Blue Dog Coalition like Reps. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Larry Kissell, D-N.C., to potentially defect from their party on this issue as they gear up for the fall campaign.

Of course, at this point, with the Senate and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue under the control of the Democrats, this is strictly a symbolic gesture by the Republicans.

…But, at least they will get it on the record before the electoral nuclear explosion (i.e., The World’s Largest Tea Party) scheduled for November 6, 2012.