Nearly one-third of all practicing physicians may leave the medical profession if President Obama signs current versions of health-care reform legislation into law, according to a survey published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.Key findings of the survey can be found here.
The survey, which was conducted by the Medicus Firm, a leading physician search and consulting firm based in Atlanta and Dallas, found that a majority of physicians said health-care reform would cause the quality of American medical care to “deteriorate” and it could be the “final straw” that sends a sizeable number of doctors out of medicine.
More than 29 percent (29.2) percent of the nearly 1,200 doctors who responded to the survey said they would quit the profession or retire early if health reform legislation becomes law. If a public option were included in the legislation, as several liberal Senators have indicated they would like, the number would jump to 45.7 percent.
If passed, the Senate health care bill will cut $500 billion from Medicare, extend coverage to an additional 30 million people and potentially drive one-third of doctors from the medical profession. It's understandable that Nancy Pelosi is trying to find a way to pass this thing without actually making anyone vote for it.
Well, add this. If a bill is passed that deprives me of medicare benefits I have now, I will resort to folk medicine and live as long as God wills!
ReplyDeleteThis isn't just hypothetical. Some doctors have already given up their practices in the past year. I offer in evidence, my own personal physician who at age 41, quit the profession this year because of the state of government involvement with health care and the impending Obamacare. He did not "retire", but is utilizing his undergrad degree in engineering. He felt he was getting out while the "getting" was good and his practice was worth something.
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