Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Medicus Firm recently conducted a survey showing that one third of all practicing physicians will stop practicing medicine if President Obama signs the current "healthcare reform" legislation into law. The inclusion of the public option in the legislation will raise that number to approximately 45 percent. 

Echoing the sentiments of several Republicans and Democrats who have rallied against the bill, the physicians claim that the reform will reduce the quality of American medical care. 

Kevin Perpetua, managing partner for the Medicus Firm, explains, “Many physicians feel that they cannot continue to practice if patient loads increase while pay decreases.” Perpetua adds that physicians accumulate an average debt of $140,000 in school loans.  Coupled with pay decreases, potential medical students may feel deterred from pursuing a career in medicine. In fact, 36 percent of physicians currently say that they would not recommend the medical profession to others, even without the passage of health care reform. If Obamacare passes, an additional 27 percent affirm that they would not recommend medicine as a career. 

This is in direct contrast to what Congressional Democrats have indicated, claiming that an “unprecedented coalition” of doctors are in support of the bill. The claim is based on the American Medical Association’s endorsement of the legislation, but of the 660,000 practicing physicians and surgeons in the United States, a mere 250,000 are members of the AMA. Of that 250,000, nearly 100,000 are medical students.  

Andrea Santiago, a spokeswoman for the Medicus Firm, asserts that the standpoint of the physicians has been wholly unrepresented in the current debate. 

The information provided in the survey should not be too much of a shock, since doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals rallied in Washington, D.C., in September 2009 against the proposed reform. Protestors from the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons bore signs that read, “Doctors know patients care”, “Leave my patients alone”, and “No to Socialized Medicine.”  In fact, Dr. Hal Scherz, a pediatric urologist from Atlanta, founded Docs for Patient Care to voice doctors’ opposition to the proposed "reform." The group presented a petition to Congress that can be found at TakeBackMedicine.com. 

The physicians surveyed by the Medicus Firm assert that they are not against health care reform in general, but are opposed to the current legislation.  In fact, Santiago explains that 96 percent of the physicians are in favor of health reform.  She adds, “The fact that so many physicians surveyed want health reform, but relatively few are in favor of the current legislation, was one of the most significant, telling results.”

Dr. Shannon Norris, radiologist from Atlanta describes Obamacare as offering “the efficiency of the Postal Service, the sustainability of Social Security and all the compassion of the IRS.”   

The medical journal explains that while the loss of half of the nation’s physicians seems unlikely, significant decrease in the number of physicians will occur as an expected side effect of the legislation. 

Photo: Tea Party protesters against Obamacare outside the office of Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.), in Schaumburg, Ill.: AP Images

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Still Free said:

No surprises here If the Obamacide Bill gets "passed" and all the doctors quit practicing, do not worry. We'll import some more foreign doctors to take their place. Don't concern yourself that you cannot understand them. At that point, will it really matter? You won't be able to afford to go to the doctor anyway.

March 17, 2010

jessica said:

unreplacable Too bad all the foreign doctors want to come to school in the US, because its better. but go ahead and replace them with foreign less skilled doctors, and I'll watch laughing as your healthcare decreases in quality.

March 25, 2010

Ian Williams said:

... Maybe they can re-instate Dr. Jack Kevorkian's medical license & he can be on the comparative effectiveness panel (AKA death panels or rationing boards). I am sure he can recommend procedures that will decrease cost.

April 04, 2010

Ian Williams said:

... In addition to the doctors who retire early, many will simply stop seeing patients with government health insurance. Already, more than 50% of doctors not accept Medicaid patients & an increasing number are no longer accepting Medicare & tricare either. It is a no brainer. Medicare is 2nd lowest payor (Medicaid is the lowest). Medicare patient have more health problems and require more treatment time. Also it something is mis-coded resulting in either an over-charge or under-charge to Medicare the doctor could face criminal charges. Note that I also said under-charge Medicare is a criminal offense equal to over-charging. So, why would any doctor want to accept Medicare. Under the Obama plan, private insurance companies will likely go out of business in the next 5 years. I suspect that the doctors who are still practicing will opt out of Medicare, Medicaid, & eventually private insurance and go to cash fee-for-service.

April 04, 2010