Poll Reveals 1/3 of U.S. Docs Would Consider Quitting Over ObamaCare
By Peter J. Smith
ATLANTA, Georgia, March 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A new poll reveals that President Barack Obama’s health care reform may push as many as a third of the nation’s practicing doctors into shuttering their offices and getting out of the medical business entirely.
In other words, the doctor may not be in to see you shortly.
According to a survey conducted by The Medicus Firm, a nationally retained physician search firm, “nearly one-third of physicians responding to the survey indicated that they will want to leave medical practice after health reform is implemented.”
The Medicus Firm queried a random sample of 2,250 physicians from their physician database, and received the responses of 1,195 doctors. Specialists accounted for 63.6 percent of responses, while 36.4 percent were primary care physicians (family practice, internal medicine, or pediatrics).
30 percent said they would leave practice early if Obama’s health care overhaul passed without a public option – such as the legislation passed by the Senate and now under consideration in the House. Eight percent said they would leave right away, even if they were nowhere close to retirement age.
When physicians were asked if a public option were included in health care reform, 45 percent said they would leave medicine. 21 percent responded, “I would try to leave medical practice even if not near retirement age.”
“What many people may not realize is that health reform could impact physician supply in such a way that the quality of health care could suffer,” said Steve Marsh, managing partner at The Medicus Firm. “The reality is that there may not be enough doctors to provide quality medical care to the millions of newly insured patients.”
Even more significant: 46 percent of primary care physicians said they would leave their practices if health care reform were passed – a nightmarish scenario, since the nation already faces a shortage of primary-care physicians.
While the Medicus Firm said that it was unlikely that all physicians would follow through with threats to leave their practices, nevertheless, they said that it appeared the Democrats' health care reform could diminish both the quantity and quality of health care in several ways.
The Firm in its analysis said that the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 22 percent increase in the demand for physician jobs by the end of the decade ending in 2018. Therefore, even a decline of doctors by 10, 15, or 20 percent “would be severely detrimental to the quality of the health care system.”
“Furthermore, even if physicians are unable to act upon a desire to quit medicine, there could be an impact in quality of care due to a lack of morale in physicians who do continue to treat patients despite feeling significantly stressed,” noted the Medicus analysis.
Click here to read the complete Medicus Firm survey and analysis.
Although the American Medical Association has endorsed President Obama’s reform, numerous state and national medical societies oppose the plan.
The influence of the AMA within the medical profession has dramatically declined in recent years because of its activist policies. In 1962, membership in the AMA peaked at 70 percent of physicians. A July 23 2009 article in the Lund Report stated "the AMA (now) only reflects, at best, one-fourth of all doctors practicing in the United States. (921,000 physicians: 236,000 AMA members)."
Below is an extensive list of State Medical Associations and National Medical Societies expressing strong opposition to Obama’s overhaul, as compiled by the office of US Representative and physician Tom Price (R-GA).
State Medical Associations
Medical Association of the State of Alabama
Medical Society of Delaware
Medical Society of the District of Columbia
Florida Medical Association
Medical Association of Georgia
Kansas Medical Society
Louisiana State Medical Society
Missouri State Medical Association
Medical Society of New Jersey
Ohio State Medical Association
South Carolina Medical Association
Texas Medical Association
National Medical Societies
American Academy of Dermatology Association
American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
American Academy of Ophthalmology
American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
American Association for the Surgery of Trauma
American Association of Neurological Surgeons
American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American College of Osteopathic Surgeons
American College of Surgeons
American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics
American Pediatric Surgical Association
American Society of Breast Surgeons
American Society of Anesthesiologists
American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery
American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons
American Society of General Surgeons
American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery
American Urological Association
American Society of Plastic Surgeons
Coalition of State Rheumatology Organizations Congress of Neurological Surgeons
Congress of Neurological Surgeons
Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma
Heart Rhythm Society
National Association of Spine Specialists
Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions
Society for Vascular Surgery
Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons
Society of Gynecologic Oncologists
Society of Surgical Oncology
Saints' Discussion Forums
Author
