Tag: physicians

Welcome to Scotuscare

On By kingsjesterIn PoliticsLeave a comment

obamacaremoe

Judicial Activism is on the verge of changing our nation from one which cherishes the Faith and Heritage, which those before us sacrificed their very lives for, to a shallow, live-for-the-moment collection of individuals, worshiping at the altar of Popular Culture and Political Correctness.

Fox News reports that

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and his conservative colleagues may have been overruled in Thursday’s decision upholding ObamaCare subsidies, but they didn’t go down without a fight. 

The firebrand conservative justice delivered one of the most scathing and linguistically creative dissents in recent memory. In a 21-page rebuttal, Scalia and two other justices tore into the Affordable Care Act and the court’s handling of it over the years — effectively accusing their colleagues of twisting the law for the sake of preserving President Obama’s signature policy. 

“Today’s interpretation is not merely unnatural; it is unheard of,” Scalia wrote, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. 

The case itself centered on language in the original law that technically limited subsidies to people buying insurance in exchanges set up by the states. Opponents said this made subsidies through the federal exchange invalid. 

“You would think the answer would be obvious — so obvious there would hardly be a need for the Supreme Court to hear a case about it,” Scalia wrote.

The majority, though, upheld subsidies everywhere, arguing that is what Congress intended.  

Scalia in his dissent scolded his colleagues’ handling of Affordable Care Act challenges, writing, “We should just start calling this law SCOTUScare,” referring to the several times the high court has ruled on controversial parts of ObamaCare. 

At one point, he panned the majority’s reasoning as “pure applesauce.” 

Scalia essentially made two major points: he accused the court of playing favorites by letting politics get in the way, and claimed the majority’s opinion contained “somersaults of statutory interpretation.”

The conservative justice attacked the logic behind the ruling as “interpretive jiggery-pokery” and said the result shows “words no longer have meaning.” 

He wrote: “The Court forgets that ours is a government of laws and not of men. That means we are governed by the terms of our laws, not by the unenacted will of our lawmakers.”

Drilling down to the language of the case itself, he wrote: “The court holds that when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act says ‘Exchange established by the State’ it means ‘Exchange established by the State or the Federal Government,’ That is of course quite absurd, and the court’s 21 pages of explanation make it no less so.”

He noted the other justices have stepped in twice now to block what he considered worthy challenges to the law, including the 2012 case challenging the individual mandate. Scalia suggested the court is now in a position of protecting the law, writing: “Under all the usual rules of interpretation, in short, the Government should lose this case. But normal rules of interpretation seem always to yield to the overriding principle of the present Court: The Affordable Care Act must be saved.”

The Thursday decision was 6-3.

Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the majority opinion. He said that while the law’s wording was problematic, Congress’ intent was clear. 

“Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them. If at all possible, we must interpret the Act in a way that is consistent with the former, and avoids the latter,” he wrote. “Those credits are necessary for the Federal Exchanges to function like their State Exchange counterparts, and to avoid the type of calamitous result that Congress plainly meant to avoid.”

Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer ruled in favor of the subsidies.

TheHill.com reports that

A House Republican on Thursday proposed forcing the Supreme Court justices and their staff to enroll in ObamaCare.

Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) said that his SCOTUScare Act would make all nine justices and their employees join the national healthcare law’s exchanges.

“As the Supreme Court continues to ignore the letter of the law, it’s important that these six individuals understand the full impact of their decisions on the American people,” he said. 

“That’s why I introduced the SCOTUScare Act to require the Supreme Court and all of its employees to sign up for ObamaCare,” Babin said.

Babin’s potential legislation would only let the federal government provide healthcare to the Supreme Court and its staff via ObamaCare exchanges.

“By eliminating their exemption from ObamaCare, they will see firsthand what the Americanpeople are forced to live with,” he added.

It has been a rough week for America. We have seen the Southern Half of our contiguous 48 states mercilessly attacked by those who would rather that we ignore our history, than grow because of it, to rewrite history, rather than to learn from it, and, to blame an inanimate object, a flag, for the actions of a racist sociopath.

And now, we have witness the Judicial Branch of our Government, assume the duties of the Legislative Branch, in blatant protection of the Executive Branch.

In the midst of my anger, I thought about this moment in history…so very long ago…

To avoid interference from Lieutenant-Governor Dunmore and his Royal Marines, the Second Virginia Convention met March 20, 1775 inland at Richmond–in what is now called St. John’s Church–instead of the Capitol in Williamsburg. Delegate Patrick Henry presented resolutions to raise a militia, and to put Virginia in a posture of defense. Henry’s opponents urged caution and patience until the crown replied to Congress’ latest petition for reconciliation.

On the 23rd, Henry presented a proposal to organize a volunteer company of cavalry or infantry in every Virginia county. By custom, Henry addressed himself to the Convention’s president, Peyton Randolph of Williamsburg. Henry’s words were not transcribed, but no one who heard them forgot their eloquence, or Henry’s closing words: “Give me liberty, or give me death!”

…And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free– if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending–if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained–we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable–and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace– but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

OUR Revolution will be a peaceful one.  Our weapons will be our ballots. The outcome will be the same:  Freedom from those who would rule our lives.

On November 8, 2016, Americans will once again fire the shot heard ’round the world.

Until He Comes,

KJ

 

Obama at 39%. Does Anyone Know a Good Doctor…Who Hasn’t Closed His Office?

On By kingsjesterIn Politics1 Comment

doctorYesterday, gallup.com reported that President Barack Hussein Obama’s popularity has dropped to 39%.

Quite Frankly, I am surprised that it is that high.

Let’s take a look at the way Americans Feel about his Signature Legislation, the disaster given the ironic name of the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare”.

Gallup.com reported on October 8th, that

…Although more provisions of the Affordable Care Act have taken effect over the past year, more Americans still say the law has hurt rather than helped them. Compared with early 2014, fewer Americans say it has had no effect, although this group is still in the majority, at 54%.

…Americans overall are both more positive and more negative about the law’s effect on themselves and their families. Since the start of this year, the percentage saying the law has helped them has increased from 10% to 16%, while the percentage saying it has hurt them has also gone up, and by a similar amount, from 19% to 27%.

At the same time, overall attitudes about the law have stayed constant over the past year. Currently, 41% of Americans approve of the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as “Obamacare,” while 53% disapprove.

Attitudes toward the Affordable Care Act remain sharply divided along party lines. Democrats are much more likely than Republicans and independents to say the law has helped them, and Republicans are much more likely to say it has hurt them. Similar percentages of Americans from all three partisan groups say the law has had no effect.

…The 15% of Democrats who say the law has hurt them is up from 6% in May. At the same time, the percentage of Democrats who say the law has helped them has also increased slightly, from 23% to 27%. Republicans’ views now are essentially the same as they were in May.

…Americans’ views on the long-term effect of the healthcare law on the healthcare situation in the U.S. have barely budged over the last year, and remain more negative than positive. Forty-six percent say the law will make things worse in the long run, while 36% say it will make things better and 15% say it will not make much difference.

…Again, the negative tilt toward the law is largely attributable to Republicans’ being much more negative about the law’s effects than Democrats are positive about them. Sixty-six percent of Democrats say the law will make the U.S. healthcare situation better, while 80% of Republicans believe it will make things worse.

…President Barack Obama in a recent speech praised the ACA’s success, saying, “It’s working pretty well in the real world.” Gallup’s ongoing tracking of the uninsured rate shows that the percentage of Americans without health insurance is 3.7 points lower now than it was in late 2013, before the requirement to have health insurance took effect.

Even though the healthcare law appears to have lowered the U.S. uninsured rate, Americans’ views toward the law overall and its effect on the U.S. healthcare situation in the long run continue to be more negative than positive. Views may change as more Americans gain insurance through the 2014 open enrollment period, which begins Nov. 15.

A survey was conducted by fax and online by the Doctor Patriot Medical Association, 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.

This survey hit home recently, as my and my wife’s primary doctors both decided that they were too old to put up with this mess any longer, both closing their offices. Her’s decided to become a hospitalist, dealing with in-hospital patients only. My doctor joined a local “See You Now”-type clinic.

I was literally raised by 3 doctors. No, I’m not some genetic experiment, like Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the movie “Twins” with Danny DeVito. I was born a severe asthmatic, caused by being born a month premature to a Mother 3 days before her 40th birthday.

These three men worked in the same clinic in Mid-town Memphis, TN. They later went on to become the chairmen of the Medical and Surgery Departments at a local hospital.

Some of my most vivid childhood memories involve laying in one of their examination rooms, with oxygen strapped to my face, as my beloved Daddy waited nervously, by my side.

Asthma treatment back then, consisted of a swig of nasty-tasting yellow Triaminic Syrup, a shot of Epinephrine, an antibiotic shot (usually a Mycin drug), a prescription for Prednisone to alleviate the inflammation, and a prescription for an anti-biotic (again, usually a mycin drug). Thank goodness, back then, (1960s through early 1970s) Sears, where both of my parents worked, had a really good insurance plan.

That being said, I owe my life to those three devoted physicians and the Greatest Healthcare System in the World.

Unfortunately, that Healthcare System, thanks to the megalomaniac who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, is in the process of going the way of the Dodo Bird.

So, the question persists, regarding this fiasco euphemistically named the Affordable Care Act, as my wife and I try to figure out whom to choose as our primary physicians, in order to continue the maintenance medicines which we both requite to continue living,

How can a state-run Healthcare System function without any doctors? Answer:  it can’t.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Obamacare: Will the Last American Doctor to “Retire Early”, Please Turn Out the Lights?

On By kingsjesterIn Politics4 Comments

obamadoctorI was literally raised by 3 doctors. No, I’m not some genetic experiment, like Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the movie “Twins” with Danny DeVito. I was born a severe asthmatic, caused by being born a month premature to a Mother 3 days before her 40th birthday.

These three men worked in the same clinic in Mid-town Memphis, TN. They later went on to become the chairmen of the Medical and Surgery Departments at a local hospital.

Some of my most vivid memories involve laying in one of their examination rooms, with oxygen strapped to my face, as my beloved Daddy waited nervously, by my side.

Asthma treatment back then, consisted of a swig of nasty-tasting yellow Triaminic Syrup, a shot of Epinephrine, an antibiotic shot (usually a Mycin drug), a prescription for prednisone to alleviate the inflammation, and a prescription for an anti-biotic (again, usually a mycin drug). Thank goodness, back then (1960s through early 1970s) Sears, where both of my parents worked, had a really good insurance plan.

My asthma persists to this day, but it has never stopped me. Once I got to high school, I became a gym rat, playing, and later, coaching and playing basketball and working out 6 days a week as a young man. However, at 54, that’s all behind me now…literally.

That being said, I owe my life to those three men of medicine, and the Greatest Healthcare System in the World.

Unfortunately, that Healthcare System, thanks to the megalomaniac who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, is about to go the way of the Dodo Bird.

The latest news revolving around the advent of this American Healthcare Destroyer, known as Obamacare, involves a survey which shows that 6 in 10 of American doctors plan on retiring within 1-3 years of this unwanted program’s inception.

How can a state-run Healthcare System function without any doctors? Answer:  it can’t.

I remember when I was singing with a 15 voice youth choir in the UK, back in July of 1978. My choirmaster’s husband, had some bad l”kippers (lox) one morning for breakfast, and got food poisoning. The hotel sent for a doctor and a nice young Pakistani fellow arrived. When asked how he wound up being a doctor in the UK, he replied that since the British Government took over healthcare, the older doctors had left the profession, and the British Government had to offer special incentives to foreign doctors to move to the UK and fill the empty slots.

Welcome to your future, America.

It has also come forward this week, that Obama and his minions are having trouble coordinating the establishment of the individual State Insurance Exchanges. These are the committees, made up on local hack politicians,  which were to be easy to use, like ordering pizza online, allowing users to fill out basic information, have the government database verify their eligibility, and then enable them to choose among competing insurance plans.

The lofty goals which Obama set for these exchanges have now been replaced with lowered expectations.

According to Henry Chao, an official at the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services who is overseeing the technology of the exchanges,

The time for debating about the size of text on the screen or the color or is it a world-class user experience, that’s what we used to talk about two years ago. Let’s just make sure it’s not a third-world experience.

“A third world experience” is evidently what Obama had in mind all along.

But, hey…no worries. We’ll all be blessed with really good, cheap health insurance, right?

Wrong.

According to wsj.com,

The possibility of higher premiums has become the latest focal point of the political tussle over the health law, which marks its third anniversary Saturday. Republican lawmakers have held hearings on the issue, and six GOP members of the House Energy and Commerce committee wrote last week to more than a dozen insurers asking them to turn over internal analyses on the law’s impact on premiums and costs.

The insurance industry has also been talking publicly about big potential premium increases in lobbying for tweaks to the law.

The individual market includes about 15 million people, and around 18% of the roughly 149 million with employer coverage were at small companies, according to 2011 figures from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The individual market is expected to grow to around 35 million people by 2016 as a result of the law.

In a private presentation to brokers late last month, UnitedHealth Group Inc., UNH -1.09% the nation’s largest carrier, said premiums for some consumers buying their own plans could go up as much as 116%, and small-business rates as much as 25% to 50%. The company said the estimates were driven in part by growing medical costs not directly tied to the law. It also cited the law’s requirements that health status not affect rates and that plans include certain minimum benefits and limits to out-of-pocket charges, among other things.

Jeff Alter, who leads United Health’s employer and individual insurance business, said the numbers represented a “high-end scenario,” not an average. “There are some scenarios in which a member could see as much as a 116% increase or over,” he said, though others, such as some older consumers, could see decreases. He said the company dwelled on the possible increases because it was trying to prepare brokers to speak with clients facing big jumps.

There is a push up on Capitol Hill to make Obama have to drop his present “Cadillac” health insurance coverage, in order to experience the horror of this bureaucratic monster which he has created, for himself.

That’s not going to happen. King Barry and Michelle Antoinette will continue to have their cake and eat it,too.

In the meantime, I hope you have your ice floe reserved. I do.

Until He Comes,

KJ

The Supremes Can’t Hurry Love…errr…Obamacare

On By kingsjesterIn Politics6 Comments

The eyes of America are fixed upon the Supreme Court today.  Will they uphold the Constitution, or will they pave the way for America to be remade into a European Democratic Socialist country?

Or, will they even issue a ruling at all, today?

Per the Los Angeles Times:

Television cameras will surround the Supreme Court on Thursday morning, as they did Monday, anticipating something that may, again, not happen.

The momentous healthcare decision could be announced Thursday. Or not. All we really know is that it is extremely likely to be handed down by the following Thursday, June 28, when the court is expected to end its current term.

The court works in secrecy as it prepares its opinions, and outsiders might be surprised to learn that some of its work is done at the last minute. The justices would have voted almost immediately after three days of oral arguments last March on whether President Obama’s healthcare overhaul is constitutional. Although that vote would normally have determined the outcome of the case, there is a lot of back and forth before the majority opinion and the dissents, if any, are finished.

Last Friday was the deadline for justices to hand in dissents. Then whoever is writing the majority opinion – the betting is on Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. – has the option of responding to any criticism of the ruling in his own opinion.

The decisions are printed inside the ornate 1935 Corinthian-style building, and handed out to reporters as the justice who authored the opinion announces the decision from the bench shortly after 10 a.m. By tradition the senior justice goes last, so healthcare is likely to be the last decision announced on the day it comes down.

Only a few times in modern history have the results leaked ahead of time, once reputedly from a comment by a justice to a reporter, another time from a talkative printer.

The court is not meeting Friday, so if the healthcare decision does not come Thursday, the next opportunity would be Monday.

So, why is America, including doctors, holding their breath every time SCOTUS is in session?

Heritage .org reports that

…a new survey shows that doctors have an even worse opinion [than the rest of the American public]. No one has a better grasp on the state of the health care system than physicians, and according to the Doctors Company survey, 60 percent of them believe that Obamacare will have a negative impact on overall patient care. This survey is consistent with the findings of another doctor survey taken in October 2010, which also showed doctors’ lack of confidence in Obamacare.

The survey was conducted to unveil physicians’ concerns about health care reform. The Doctors Company, which is the largest insurer of physician and surgeon medical liability in the nation, received more than 5,000 surveys, including all specialties and every region in the country. The results weren’t good for the President’s signature piece of legislation.

Not only do doctors believe that Obamacare will not improve the health care system, they also anticipate that it will worsen the current condition. According to the survey, nine out of 10 physicians are unwilling to recommend health care as a profession to a family member, and one primary care physician even commented, “I would not recommend becoming an M.D. to anyone.”

Obamacare doesn’t just discourage entrance into the medical profession; it encourages those who are already practicing to leave it. The survey states that “health care reform is motivating doctors to change their retirement timeline.” In fact, 43 percent of respondents said they are considering retiring within the next five years as a result of the law. A surgeon from Michigan wrote that under Obamacare, “We will be moving further away from humanity-based health care and more towards the patient as a commodity. This was not the way my father practiced—nor will I. Winding down to retire early.”

Currently, the United States is on the brink of a severe physician shortage. According to the American Association of Medical Colleges, by 2020, the nation will need an additional 91,500 doctors to meet medical demand. Dr. Donald J. Palmisano, former president of the American Medical Association, warns, “Today, we are perilously close to a true crisis as newly insured Americans enter the health care system and our population continues to age.” If current physicians leave the practice early because of the health law, the problem will be exacerbated even further.

Finally, the survey revealed concerns that the health law will compromise the doctor-patient relationship. Slightly more than half of doctors surveyed believe “that increased bureaucracy is reducing the personal interaction with patients essential for building a close relationship and understanding the nature of patient health.”

Governor Rick Perry of Texas put it succintly, when he said:

Obamacare has got everyone on edge. I mean, small business – men and women or big business are sitting out there saying we have no idea what this is going to cost, but we know it’s going to cost us and cost us a lot.

And Americans cannot afford Obama’s Affordable Healthcare Act.