No insurers. No government. No surprise bills. At our practice,
patients pay in cash and prices are lower.
By Dr. Gerard Gianoli
The Affordable Care Act is raising costs, restricting patient choice
and doctor freedom, and putting bureaucrats in the treatment room.
It isn’t good—but it’s here to stay, largely intact, at least until
a Republican president can work with a Republican-controlled
Congress.
But that doesn’t mean nothing can be done. The onus is now on
physicians to innovate and improve patient outcomes within the
restrictive confines of an ObamaCare world.
Physicians have been largely ignored in the government’s attempts to
reform health care. The ACA’s architects, for example, tried to
align the five key health-care interest groups—government agencies,
insurance companies, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and
ancillaries (e.g., medical-device makers, labs)—to guarantee better
patient outcomes.
Yet this approach has produced a health-care system that is
increasingly disliked and unaffordable. The ACA is more unpopular
than ever; in November 2014, only 37% of Americans approved of the
federal overhaul compared with 56% opposed, according to Gallup. And
thanks to higher out-of-pocket costs under the ACA—including
deductibles averaging more than $5,000 for so-called “bronze”
plans—one in three Americans said they or a family member delayed
seeking medical care in 2014, according to a Gallup survey.
This is where physicians come in. If what many providers advocate is
true—that doctors, not bureaucrats or politicians, know what’s best
for patients—physicians must begin offering solutions. This requires
thinking like entrepreneurs and innovators, not lab coats awaiting
orders from outside parties on how to deliver medical care. …click
for full article
Our guest 2nd hour:
Art
Thompson Additional
shows : OCTOBER
26, 2014
Art Thompson was born in Seattle, Washington in 1938. Art attended the
University of Washington, the Washington Military Academy and other
business related institutions, before going into business for
himself.
He joined the Society in May, 1964 and rose through "the ranks"
becoming a successful Area Coordinator for The John Birch Society in
the 1970's. He left the staff to go back into business in 1981 and
returned to the staff again in the 1990's.
In the 1980's and early 90's, his business took him all over the
United States. A frequent visitor to Western Europe on business, as
a tourist, and once on a political fact-finding tour for the JBS,
Art was at the Berlin Wall as it was coming down. During this tour,
he became acquainted with many businessmen, academics, and members
of the German cabinet and European Union.
Art has also served on his small town City Council, as the chairman
of his local Chamber of Commerce, as an official and an elector for
the Republican Party, and as a local leader in the state of
Washington for the Christian Coalition. He also served as an officer
in the Select Reserve Force of the Army and National Guard.
Art has held virtually every volunteer and staff position in the
Society, including National Director of Development and
Communications and National Director of Field Activities. For
several years, he represented the Society in a variety of media
events, including appearing on "60 Minutes," and was for a short
time on our Speakers Bureau.