AMA President: Opposition to public plan is motivated by desire to ‘protect the health insurance industry.’
AMA President: Opposition to public plan is motivated by desire to ‘protect the health insurance industry.’
A week ago, the American Medical Association declared its opposition to a public health insurance option, a key plank of President Obama’s health reform plan. Obama subsequently addressed the AMA membership directly, explaining his proposal and telling them that “the public option is not your enemy, it is your friend.” It appears that Obama’s argument may have compelled the AMA to rethink its position. The organization is now concerned that media reports are portraying them as “opposed to reform” and too favorable towards the insurance industry:
On Tuesday, the American Medical Association considered a resolution that would have opposed any new public plan that would “risk the elimination of a healthy competitive market for private health insurance.”
Before its delegates moved toward final passage, AMA president Nancy H. Nielsen intervened and asked delegates to focus on what they could support. […]
“I do not believe it’s the position of this House of Delegates of the American Medical Association to protect the health insurance industry,” Nielsen said, prompting loud applause from the members.
“I think the health insurance industry pays a lot of money to people who can protect them.”
“That was about creating an impression that we are not part of the problem, we are part of the solution,” said Ted Epperly, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.
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AMA President: Opposition to public plan is motivated by desire to ‘protect the PROFITS OF the health insurance industry.’
There. Fixed it.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:24 pmIf that’s the best we can get for now, I guess every little bit helps. Have to wait and see how this shakes out.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:25 pmIf the AMA (rightly) joins us in demonizing the health insurance industry, the public plan has a much better chance of becoming a reality.
But we’ll see how firm they are in their position after the payoffs and free junkets take place.
PEACE
June 17th, 2009 at 12:26 pmThe organization is now concerned that media reports are portraying them as “opposed to reform” and too favorable towards the insurance industry…
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Um…maybe media reports are portraying them in this manner because that’s the position they are taking?
June 17th, 2009 at 12:26 pm“That was about creating an impression that we are not part of the problem, we are part of the solution,” said Ted Epperly, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Uh huh.
**eyes rolling**
June 17th, 2009 at 12:27 pmIn other words, they want to protect bloated overhead payments to doctors that make medicare and medicaid look like chump change.
I’ve got news for you, AMA: you’re a dining club, not representatives of the health care industry.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:29 pmAMA President: Opposition to public plan is motivated by desire to ‘protect the health insurance industry.’,
Well, that certainly has the “duh” factor working for it.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:30 pmmeanwhile, in reality, most people in this country still want a single payer option. Can we talk about the media’s mentioning of the single payer plan? any polls of what people want?
June 17th, 2009 at 12:37 pmEvery time they’ve allowed themselves to be politicized, their opinion has been used to create political support for terrible decisions. Criminalization of marijuana or treatment of homosexuality as a mental illness, as just two examples.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:37 pmHey, AMA, tell us something.
Do you feel that people should become doctors so they can cure the sick and comfort the dying, or do you feel people should become doctors so they can make a lot of money? And which of these two types of people does your group support?
June 17th, 2009 at 12:37 pmRealness Says:
meanwhile, in reality, most people in this country still want a single payer option. Can we talk about the media’s mentioning of the single payer plan?
“Single payer” got bait-and-switched to “public option.” Now nobody in the media will utter the words “single payer” no matter what, which means it’s already dead.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:39 pmUS businesses cannot compete with businesses in countries with universal health insurance because those companies do not have to provide health insurance for their employees
Our economy depends on our fixing the health insurance problem.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:39 pmElBruce:
that damn liberal media, at it again.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:40 pmAnd just how has the whole AMA ‘condmenation’ of doctor-assisted torture shake out, hmmm? Has there been enough pressure on them about this, if we’re going to look at credibility…
June 17th, 2009 at 12:44 pmThe AMA has been fighting against universal health insurance and universal health care since 1948, when it was proposed by President Harry Truman. Heck of job, AMA…
O/T: in terms of tightening regulations of financial markets, President Obama should totally outlaw hedge funds, derivatives, and credit swap defaults, which are just devices of corporate greed. Also, he should eliminate speculation from rigging the oil futures markets by limiting participation to players that can accept physical delivery of ten thousand barrels of oil.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:44 pmWayne Ant Schneider Says:
Do you feel that people should become doctors so they can cure the sick and comfort the dying, or do you feel people should become doctors so they can make a lot of money?
The idea that high salaries attract the “best” people to certain industries seems to have a point of diminishing returns; that is true up to a point, but beyond that point it only seems to attract the greedy.
Certainly doctors should earn a very comfortable living, especially given the amount of training required. But going past that point, where being a doctor becomes being a money machine, seems to drive out the people who are doing it for the right reasons and attract more and more people who are doing it for the wrong reasons. The result: worse doctors.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:47 pmWayne Ant Schneider Says:
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Hey, AMA, tell us something.
Do you feel that people should become doctors so they can cure the sick and comfort the dying, or do you feel people should become doctors so they can make a lot of money? And which of these two types of people does your group support?
Doctors have a very difficult job that requires a great deal of education (very expensive) and a great deal of responsility (malpractice insurance), they should be well compensated. There is not job as difficult, demanding or important than that of a medical doctor. Cut their pay and the best and the brightest may find other professions where they can get rich.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:48 pmProtect the system? Wow is anyone stupid enough to buy that? More like protect your profits.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:50 pmThere you go, Tommy, using that darn ‘common sense’ thing again. You know folks don’t want to hear that! If we’re already the Best Place in the World, why would anything we already have need to be made more like those Evil/Scary/Bad Other Places???
/snark
June 17th, 2009 at 12:51 pmJohnM Says:
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Wayne Ant Schneider Says:
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Hey, AMA, tell us something.
Do you feel that people should become doctors so they can cure the sick and comfort the dying, or do you feel people should become doctors so they can make a lot of money? And which of these two types of people does your group support?
Doctors have a very difficult job that requires a great deal of education (very expensive) and a great deal of responsility (malpractice insurance), they should be well compensated. There is not job as difficult, demanding or important than that of a medical doctor. Cut their pay and the best and the brightest may find other professions where they can get rich.
Please show me anywhere in the proposed plan that doctor’s will have their pay cut.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:54 pmJohnM Says:
Doctors have a very difficult job that requires a great deal of education (very expensive) and a great deal of responsility (malpractice insurance), they should be well compensated. There is not job as difficult, demanding or important than that of a medical doctor. Cut their pay and the best and the brightest may find other professions where they can get rich.
Pretty tired argument there. This is used whenever rich people’s money are threatened. Pretty cynical as well. If we get a competing, government run health care program, doctors won’t be affected. This is about changing a system that has built in incentives to deny coverage, all the while the ones who are denying coverage are getting richer and richer.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:55 pmStupid question and please pardon my lack of knowledge on this one but what is the difference between single payer and a public option? I’m just confused because I’ve heard them used interchangably as well as in opposition to one another.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:58 pmTeachers require a lot of education and have a great deal of responsibility. I don’t see anyone arguing that we should raise their salaries to ensure we get better, more qualified people in their profession, however. And if you don’t think their job isn’t as difficult, demanding and important as a doctor’s, where do you think a doctor ever learned anything?
June 17th, 2009 at 1:00 pm——————————————————————————–
kdgamergirl Says:
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JohnM Says:
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Wayne Ant Schneider Says:
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Hey, AMA, tell us something.
Do you feel that people should become doctors so they can cure the sick and comfort the dying, or do you feel people should become doctors so they can make a lot of money? And which of these two types of people does your group support?
Doctors have a very difficult job that requires a great deal of education (very expensive) and a great deal of responsility (malpractice insurance), they should be well compensated. There is not job as difficult, demanding or important than that of a medical doctor. Cut their pay and the best and the brightest may find other professions where they can get rich.
Please show me anywhere in the proposed plan that doctor’s will have their pay cut.
Hospitals and doctors do not get reimbursed as much for medicare as they do from private insurance so that means less money to the doctors.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:01 pmkdgamergirl Says:
Stupid question and please pardon my lack of knowledge on this one but what is the difference between single payer and a public option? I’m just confused because I’ve heard them used interchangably as well as in opposition to one another.
From what I understand, single payer is just that, the government would be all of our ‘insurance’ company. Public option is just that, government health care coverage would be an option, competing against existing insurance companies.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:02 pmI’m really impressed by a dr.who comes to vist me in a hospital to say hi, good to see you, time to collect 1,000$.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:06 pmYep, John M thats all about caring about the patient, isn’t it?
And gee, I guess when you decide to go into medical school you have no idea how much work it might take.
As long as physicians aline themselves with the AMA, they lose respect from me.
And JohnnyM-try getting professional medical care in Florida, it’s a sad joke.
tony and lido
Hospitals and doctors do not get reimbursed as much for medicare as they do from private insurance so that means less money to the doctors.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:01 pm Recommend (0) | Report Abuse
June 17th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
anyone against a single payer insurance plan is against the US economy and against US small business
why do right wingers hate US business so much?
June 17th, 2009 at 1:10 pmThe AMA represents medical specialists who thrive under the present rules of the game. Why is it so hard for some progressives to understand that “specialists” are using the present referral process to do things that “general practitioners” did very well for 60 years. Why are medical schools incorporating naturopaths, physical therapists, etc in their teaching curriculum as a vital part of wellness programs: because the outcomes are succeeding in helping heal the sick. General practitioners could do this very well w/out the hoax of upcharges and gatekeepers for the insurance companies getting their hands in the till. We all pay, one way or another, but we all don’t benefit equally. It is time for change and the time is now!
June 17th, 2009 at 1:13 pmdietrich, don’t try to reason with ToiletM
he is just a troll, he isn’t here to debate, he is just here to shove his ignorance, cowardice, and racism in our faces
best to just ignore and flag him
June 17th, 2009 at 1:13 pm——————————————————————————–
AllYouNeedIs Says:
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JohnM Says:
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Doctors have a very difficult job that requires a great deal of education (very expensive) and a great deal of responsility (malpractice insurance), they should be well compensated. There is not job as difficult, demanding or important than that of a medical doctor. Cut their pay and the best and the brightest may find other professions where they can get rich.
Teachers require a lot of education and have a great deal of responsibility. I don’t see anyone arguing that we should raise their salaries to ensure we get better, more qualified people in their profession, however. And if you don’t think their job isn’t as difficult, demanding and important as a doctor’s, where do you think a doctor ever learned anything?
You are right teachers do have a great deal of responsibility and need to have a great deal of education and most of them work for public schools which dictate the salary structure. It’s pretty much a general consensus that teachers are underpaid, but why is that? Why don’t the best and brightest want to teach the second grade? Could compensation have anything to do with it?
June 17th, 2009 at 1:14 pmRantingTommy Says:
anyone against a single payer insurance plan is against the US economy and against US small business
why do right wingers hate US business so much?
I see it slightly differently; if you are against single payer, you work for an insurance company or get your money from it (lobbyists – politicians). An average American being against single payer is like voters in Utah & South Carolina, they’re poor & middle class, yet they vote rich, against their own interests.
This debate is just one cog in the machine whereby corportations dominate individuals.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:18 pmAMA President: Opposition to public plan is motivated by desire to ‘protect the health insurance industry’s PROFITs.’
There, fixed it for you.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:18 pmHeh. Note to self:
Read before posting. ;o)
June 17th, 2009 at 1:18 pmI dunno, Namtillaku, large corporations are having problems because of the backwards right wing resistance to a modern health insurance system
GM went out of business not solely because they made crappy vehicles, but also because of the huge health insurance liability they had
single payer would help US corporations be more competitive, except, of course, the insurance corporations
June 17th, 2009 at 1:20 pmI’d like to challenge every single member of Congress to go out and try to purchase a health care plan for themselves and their families at today’s prices.
I’ll bet there’d be some serious sticker shock going on.
Those schmucks have it way too easy. We’re paying for it, and they don’t want us to have the same coverage as they do.
GRRRRRRR!!!
June 17th, 2009 at 1:21 pmHospitals and doctors do not get reimbursed as much for medicare as they do from private insurance so that means less money to the doctors.
As Medicare stands now, pre-reform, I don’t think that’s a good measuring stick for how a public option plan would (should?) shape up. There’s general agreement about Medicare’s unique stance amongst a private industry, vis a vis big pharma, new technology, unnecessary amounts of middlemen, etc.
Single payer (and maybe a well-drafted public plan) would most likely see a reduction in doctor’s salaries, but there is also general agreement by most leaders of medical organizations that there would be some squeeze by everyone, including doctors, but that is to be expected for the goal of covering as many people as possible. There is also general agreement that this squeeze would not be nearly as bad if we really streamlined the whole system- which the most efficient way is single payer or at least a strong public option.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:22 pmkdgamergirl,
Single payer is like Medicare. There you have your choice of whatever doctor you want to visit for whatever need. You don’t have go through a clearinghouse to ask permission. The single payer, in Medicare it’s the Federal Gov, then pays a certain amount based on their standards. This amount is considered to cover some major portion of the cost; it could be 100% or less. In Medicare it is 80%. The patient is then only responsible for whatever is left, if anything. Presriptions are covered also. The insurance companies have rushed into the Medicare gap after the 80%. That is huge business in Florida.
The “public option” has not been defined enough yet except to say that it will not be single payer. Somehow only the truly indigent will get their premiums covered. Obama is hoping to get the insurance and doctor and pharma people to back him and then he will probably let them write the actual bill that he tries to get Congress to pass.
For a good comment on our healthcare costs, go to The Daily Howler . Scroll down about 1/2 way to ‘Zeno’s Universal Coverage.’
June 17th, 2009 at 1:23 pmRantingTommy Says:
single payer would help US corporations be more competitive, except, of course, the insurance corporations
Hopefully, you’re not taking me wrong. I’m 100% for single payer. You could find no happier person if they shut down every health insurance parasite out there.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:24 pmthe right wing corporate controlled mainstream media wants people to think the government will be running health care
that is not what the plan is
the plan is to take the middleman out of the equation. insurance companies are an added expense that adds no value to health care
they are not proposing government run health care, they are proposing a large group policy and the discounts and cost savings that come along with it
June 17th, 2009 at 1:25 pmAlthough I think that doctors should be well paid I do not want to have for my doctor someone who went into the profession just to become rich!
June 17th, 2009 at 1:30 pmYou are right teachers do have a great deal of responsibility and need to have a great deal of education and most of them work for public schools which dictate the salary structure. It’s pretty much a general consensus that teachers are underpaid, but why is that? Why don’t the best and brightest want to teach the second grade? Could compensation have anything to do with it?
Because compensation is abysmal for teachers, some of the most dedicated educators perhaps are there because they feel it is their calling, so it could be argued that many of the ‘best and brightest’ are already there, despite our own projections of Most money=best people.
but then again we would all agree that better compensation would attract more people to that area. It’s the limit of that thinking that’s the debate. I think El Bruce’s point of the tipping point (comment 16) is there. On one end we have under-compensation and its consequences, on the other we have over-compensation, and it would be ridiculous to deny those consequences all around us, as the AMA, insurance companies, and many doctors move to keep a very inefficient (and harmful to millions of Americans) for their own gain.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:34 pmTalk is cheap. Walk is the only thing that counts.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:51 pmThanks for explaining :)
June 17th, 2009 at 3:32 pmDefinitely the health insurance industry would take a very big hit if we did this. But presently, the health insurance industry is leeching off of every other industry, causing all of them to add massive overhead and forcing labor disputes. That’s every industry in America being hurt by this system. I’m willing to lose one to save the rest.
.
JohnM Says:
Cut their pay and the best and the brightest may find other professions where they can get rich.
I’m starting to think these “best and brightest” are neither very good nor very bright. I’d like to cut it just enough so that evil scumbags can go back to Wall Street where they belong. Doctors should want to be doctors at least in part because they actually want to help other people.
But that’s besides the point, as insurance =/= doctors, and pharma =/= doctors.
.
JohnM Says:
It’s pretty much a general consensus that teachers are underpaid, but why is that?
Because of Republicans. They haven’t yet been eliminated from all elective offices, and therefore still cause trouble, such as slashing teacher pay and then demonizing them as “lazy government employees” whenever they ask for an increase.
June 17th, 2009 at 3:41 pm“Opposition to public plan is motivated by desire to ‘protect the health insurance industry.’”
Oh, He must of forgot, and profits…………………….
June 17th, 2009 at 3:43 pm“I think the health insurance industry pays a lot of money to people who can protect them.”
Those campaign contributions are called BRIBES.
June 17th, 2009 at 4:01 pmWe need a public option that people are automatically enrolled in which covers basic healthcare needs. If someone wants private insurance, the gov’t should send the premium which is witheld from their paycheck to the chosen insurance company. Otherwise, the goal of universal healthcare will not happen. When people are low on money or want to purchase some desired luxury item, the things which are intangible are the first to go, like auto insurance. A HUGE percentage of drivers buy auto insurance just long enough to get their plates, then cancel or simply let the bill go unpaid. Health insurance will be exactly the same if we leave it to people to buy and pay for themselves. Of course, conservatives would hate the idea of doing that with auto liability coverage, until some working-poor or unemployed person hits them and they sue all they like, knowing no money will ever come out of it.
June 17th, 2009 at 4:17 pmRead ALTERNET today!!!!
This is of great and pressing importance. It is one thing which is missing in TP since ObaOba took office…
Shame: The ‘Anti-War’ Democrats Who Sold Out
ALTERNET
June 17th, 2009 at 4:29 pmDoctors, in particular primary care doctors, have every reason to be concerned about inadequate reimbursement under a nationalized healthcare plan. In some states, Medicaid has either decreased or not changed their reimbursement over the last decade.
National Healthcare is necessary to save our economy, but we will not see anything close to this with corporate sympathizers like Obama and his Clintonite regime. If there is any goverment program produced with people like Emmanuel having anything to do with it, you can rest assured it will be very punitive and intentionally overbearing.
The bottom line is we will get a window dressing like the fake lobbyist reform NAFTA Nancy passed.
For America to get a real national healthcare program with their best interest at heart, we need real lobbyiost reform and campaign finance reform…bottom line.
June 17th, 2009 at 6:16 pmOf course it is. How much in the way of campaign contributions do they get? Plenty. And to drag out this old saw, until there is true campaign finance reform we will never have a real democracy. The Congress and Senate will always be owned and operated by K Street. If you listen, you can hear the sound of the lobbyists slithering along the corridors of congress. Ssssssssss.
June 17th, 2009 at 9:27 pmAbsolutely! Why should the GOP want to protect an industry that has no place in the market? We need to forge an industry that is relevant to the peoples needs, not those of the wealthy and politically connected.
June 18th, 2009 at 10:22 amOf course the AMA is trying to block REAL health care reform. They will lose their ’source’ of money from the insurance companies if health care reform is passed. Just watch, the drug companies will be next.
June 18th, 2009 at 10:41 amIt is time for America to get out from under these corporations. They are no better then some governments in third world countries.
I read an opinion piece by some physician that said the AMA only has like 20% of physicians who are members. If that’s true, they certainly aren’t representative of feelings of physcians across America.
Some physicians prefer the Hypocritic Oath as opposed to the Hippocratic Oath.
June 18th, 2009 at 11:50 amThank you..
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