This article by Stephen Spruiell on National Review Online discusses how some American Medical Association members believe the AMA jumped the gun by endorsing the House health-care bill (and its embrace of gummit-run medicine) so early, with some docs even resigning from the organization as a result.
The AMA?s endorsement also prompted a coalition of eleven state, county, and specialty medical associations to send a letter
to Capitol Hill this week strongly opposing the creation of a ?public
option? and other aspects of the Democrats? bill. The coalition?s
letter characterized the bill as a big step toward single-payer: ?We
are concerned that any government plan will always have advantages that
are not available to the private sector. These unfair advantages will
effectively crowd out the private market leaving only a government?run
option available.?
In this update on The Corner, Spruiell suggests the revolt may spread when docs learn that the way Dem’s plan to “bend the cost curve” and reduce medical spending is to reduce reimbursements to physicians. Docs have been complaining about the feds’ low payments for delivering Medicare and Medicaid for more than a decade — and more and more physicians are simply refusing to accept new Medicare and Medicaid patients because of those low reimbursements.
There’s no indication that the AMA could rescind its endorsement. But with public support for the Dems’ plan cratering, Obamacare will never survive if it loses the key players in the health-care industry, too.
