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Friday, November 6, 2009 6:02 PM EST
Local health care professionals concerned about Congress’ plans
By Chris Chapman
Olean Times Herald
OLEAN - As yet another round of health care reform bills hit the two congressional chambers in Washington, local health care professionals have concerns that have not been mentioned thus far in the debate.
In fact, some believe some of the more important issues have been neglected.
Olean Medical Group Chief Medical Officer John Camus said there are a couple of areas that need to be addressed for reform to be meaningful.
“One of the largest areas that needs to be fixed is the Medicare Physicians Payment System,” he said.
The system is the way health care providers are reimbursed for services to those on Medicare.
“Currently, medical professionals are looking at 2010 cuts in payment by 21.5 percent, with more proposed in subsequent years,” he said.
The segment of the population covered by Medicare are patients who have various health issues resulting from aging, and it takes more time to treat them, Mr. Camus said.
“While I agree that the expanded coverage is a good thing, it will bring issues of access,” he said. “We already have a difficult time recruiting (health care professionals) in this area. This will bring more patients in to doctors being paid less, as their Medicare payments are decreasing.”
Dr. Gilbert Witte, a doctor of pulmonology, internal medicine and critical care medicine at the Olean Medical Group and Cattaraugus County medical director, said that access brings more to the table than just compensation.
“One of the biggest issues that needs to be examined is access,” he said. “Not just having insurance, but access to the care needed.”
The lack of access in the form that Dr. Witte speaks about has the potential to create larger health conditions, he said.
“I have patients who have stopped taking medications because they couldn’t afford it,” he said. “For some, they have insurance, but it doesn’t cover what they need, or they fall into that Medicaid ‘doughnut hole.’ Some patients do not take the medicines their heart doctor prescribes. These things lead to poor quality of health, and that is inexcusable in a country like the United States. We need affordable, quality health care. That is the bottom line.”
The solution?
Mr. Camus believes that the reversal of the trend could come in offering more of an incentive to the physicians who work with the elderly segment of the population.
Another point of reform that should be undertaken is medical liability, or malpractice, reform, Mr. Camus said.
“We want doctors to be able to treat their patients the way they should be treated without the threat of liability claims,” he said.
Changes in tort reform law haven’t been brought into the discussion in Washington, but Dr. Witte said that is an area that could offer another avenue to bringing down medical costs.
“Would I like to see tort reform? Sure, but it cuts both ways,” he said. “Studies have shown that cases that go to court for malpractice are not malpractice. The same studies have also shown that people trying to be compensated for medical mistakes aren’t always recognized. The system fails both ways.”
Several states have boards that look at possible malpractice cases before they make it to a courtroom, Dr. Witte said.
“Some (states) have panels of physicians, lay people and lawyers to decide the merit of the case before it gets to that level,” he said.
Dr. Witte said he also favors one of the options that has long been taken out of the bill, the single-payer option.
“I like the idea of a single-payer system, but that isn’t even on the agenda,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be a Canadian system, or England’s system. It doesn’t have to be anyone else’s system but ours.”
The single-payer system would have a single entity, the government in existing systems, collect the payment for medical services and disburse it to medical professionals.
Dr. Witte said he sees this as a means to make people understand what the status of health care should be.
“People have the right to decent health care, and we need to find a way to realize that,” he said.
Another controversial point in the health care system has gained the favor of Dr. Witte as well.
“I am in favor of a public option, something like Medicare,” he said. “It is not a perfect system ... but Medicare offers unprecedented coverage to a large group of people.”
Dr. Witte has been practicing medicine for 29 years.
Efforts to reach other doctors in the area went unanswered.
Two proposed bills are making their way through Congress. The Democratic bill as offered by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-California, is nearly 2,000 pages long, and would cost $1 trillion over 10 years to implement. The Republican bill as offered by House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, weighs in at 219 pages and will cost a mere $15 billion to implement.
A vote on the Pelosi-proposed plan is expected to take place over the weekend.
(Contact reporter Chris Chapman at cchapman@oleantimesherald.com)
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ridiculous wrote on Nov 6, 2009 8:33 PM: