I will not be listening to Obama’s speech tonight, but I do plan to read all about it later this evening. If I were providing advice, I would first focus on explaining the need in human terms. He needs to tell stories about the problems of our current situation.
He needs to outline a real plan, not just engage in rhetoric. He needs to contrast the concept of public plan with government run health care (if he can.) He needs to stress insurance portability.
He has this last chance. I heard a big supporter last night say that he needs to nail this one or his entire presidency may run only one term. I believe this is correct.
I support much of health care reform. I hope for a very good bill, knowing that we cannot get a perfect bill.
The ACP position on the public option is very specific in that we want physician participation to be totally voluntary and independent of Medicare or Medicaid. We advocate the public option as a competing insurance plan. If they do it right, it could help many Americans.
I hope that he advocates strongly for primary care, as such advocacy is the best way to improve quality and decrease costs. Perhaps I will have time to comment tomorrow about his attempt.
Now I’m ready for 3 airline flights and then some golf.
Have a nice day!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I hope you enjoy your time on the fairway. Obama’s speech, however, will not be up to par. Don’t agree with you on the public option (PO), which will soon vanish from the health care stage. Obama will offer some tepid PO support this evening, but he knows its on life support. Though his speech has been hyped, it won’t be a gamechanger at all. He risks alienating the right and the left – a double bogie! Health care reform tomorrow will likely look the same as it did yesterday. http://www.MDWhistleblower.blogspot.com
just watched the speech…. what a shame. still wants to “lower health cost” with no real explanation of how he plans to do that except for cutting out payment to hospitals and doctors. not even a little mention of primary care…. real shame.
Brian,
Actually he did not talk about cutting payment to hospitals and doctors. The lowered health costs that we was referring to will come from injecting competition into the stagnant health insurance market by creating a public health insurance plan. I’m not sure how you missed that part, actually.
Medical Student.
ah yes, an ideal thought but poorly naive.
I support public option and I support insurance competition. But Obama has made it very clear that he expects “hospitals and doctors” to decrease health care cost (again with no real explanation of how that would happen.)
Add 50million new people to the healthcare system under a government funded program that will no doubt mirror Medicare (which by the way will be broke in 10yrs.) Medicare has been working hard over the past few years to save money. This has consisted of cutting payments, sending billing bounty hunters after doctors, setting PQRI into motion (a program that saves the system money under a thin veil of “health quality”,) and setting rules that will punish doctors who do not participate in these ridiculous so called quality standards. since there is no mention of ANYTHING else, I have to assume Obama plans to continue with this course of “cost cutting.”
at no point has Medicare made any advances in reducing cost by supporting Primary care. the cost effectiveness of this has been eloquently described by DB and I wont elaborate.
So Medical Student, do not fool yourself into believing that hospital and doctors will not feel a pinch from these new government programs. they may start well but they will rapidly deteriorate into a bureaucratic nightmare (as have almost every government entitlement program of the past.)
So please excuse me if I disagree and I am jaded that the current Insurance reform plans will do anything to help save the medical system.
until Obama and the democrats start talking about improving PRIMARY CARE practices there is NO HEALTH CARE REFORM.
to date and including the speech… not a whisper…..
When 1,400 physicians were polled by LocumTenens.com about future health care reform, more than 20% said they’d stop practicing medicine if health care reform is implemented. Out of those 20% a vast majority were anesthesiologists, surgeons or radiologists. These specialists are already in short supply in many areas of the country so research shows there will be greater shortages if government-run universal health insurance is implemented.
http://www.locumtenens.com/healthcare-reform/reform-health-care.aspx
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