An article in The Sun News on Nov. 3 written by Anna Gorman “Doctors aid in health care law” motivated me to look for answers about why in today’s crisis in health care, physicians are still only an aid to disastrous federal regulation of medical health care.
This law should not be established without full participation and agreement of physicians who through human history have been providers of health care in any civilized country on this planet.
American medical care from Colonial times until approximately 1883 was practiced and governed by American physicians, and a tradition of private and volunteer funds of insurance providers.
In 1914, the American Medical Association and the American Association of Labour and Legislation involved physicians in formulating and securing a new bill that favored “Compulsory Health Insurance” for working class and poor people. This was rejected in 1918 because of political disagreement between government and private insurers as to how to pay physicians.
In “progressive Era” of early 20th century, the U.S. Labour party and some socialist parties supported health care and some benefit programs for indigent people. Even powerful president Theodore Roosevelt's initiative for reform of health care only took place outside of government's initiative for reform of health care.
Cost of distribution of health care led to formation of funding groups, philanthropic organizations including the Rockefeller Foundation. Community of physicians, public health care specialists and some interest groups were established with a name CCOMC (Community of Cost of Medical Care) in 1925. However this group proposal was rejected by AMA as too radical.
In 1935 president Franklin D. Roosevelt came with a new deal including a Social Security bill, but the idea of passing compulsory health insurance was excluded again. The same thing happened with FDR's second attempt with the Wagner Bill, which gave support for national health program. Had it passed it would have established a compulsory national insurance funded by the government.
President Truman (1945-1953) fully supported national health care insurance, which included all classes of the society. This plan was also rejected by Sen. Taft, the AMA and American Bar Association. Even President Truman emphasized the importance of physician method of payment.
After WW II, private insurance expanded and provided quality medical care for more then 260 million Americans. Government involvement in national health care came with President Lyndon Johnson, who signed Medicare and Medicaid Bill, which covered all people 65 and older.
This kind of gradual evolution of American medicine and health care going through challenges between government, physicians, private insurers and volunteer organizations for the well being of American people is traditional in this democratic country.
What we are experiencing now is a part of President Obama’s ideology of total transformation of America, starting with the 3,000-page Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This revolutionary socialistic movement in health care is subject to federal regulations with multiple bureaucratic agencies and programming to regulate doctors’ practice of medicine, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and private insurers for the total American population.
Once or if Obama Care Law is established, president should have an easy road to socialism and to bring to America nationalized health care. The next president will have executive power to “fix” any resistance of the whole health care system.
I don't believe that this law should have the power to tell doctors, hospitals, patients and other health care providers what is the best quality health care for American people. My answer to this situation is that the Obamacare law be repealed and a new one built in the free market, oriented on patients and on the traditional professional experience of physicians, hospitals, pharmacists and health care insurers, with only assistance of the federal government.
The writer is a physician who lives in Myrtle Beach.