As many of us have pointed out for years, only a small (15 to 25%), declining and unrepresentative number of physicians belong to the despicable AMA.
In fact, despite the AMA position, 59% of physicians support "government legislation to establish national health insurance"!
I work as a family physician in a county clinic and hospital in Los Angeles and I’m actively involved in activism around the national health care reform process. So this week as each new move played out – whether by congresspeople or health care advocates or the health insurance industry – it was exciting to hear on more than one occasion from my patients , "Didya hear, doc?" It’s a testament to the fact that people are ENGAGED.
So,didya hear? If ya didn’t, here’s a quick roundup of the national level health care reform updates/news, and please read on to see what some organizations have unveiled this week in response. Because information without action is disempowering, and we’re not about disempowerment here.
Originally posted here at 2009-03-09 16:20:07 -0500; all crossposts of items by Dr. SteveB are done with the good doctor's permission. Even the hijacked ones. :) Many thanks to CTMan for bringing this one over. -- GH
Since we all want to get health some (any?) kind of health reform" we are being told by Washington insiders to set aside our advocacy for single payer and join in with the kumbaya negotiations with enemy (AHIP) to get 'er done. Sure, as a matter of policy and economics, single payer is the best way to reduce and control costs, and also get to universal comprehensive coverage. However, as a matter of realistic power politics, I am told by the powers that be that we can't do it this year, so we should settle for what is doable.
Okay. I'll bite. Let’s get the best plan we can get with 50% plus one in each house of Congress. And as usual, that means 51 Senators, since we have a larger and more probably liberal majority there.
But can we please please stop pretending that we can or should "negotiate" with AHIP? This idea that the private insurance companies are compromising is nonsense!
