Bush cuts medicare reimbursment for internship/residency

[wcliffa]

I am an attorney that will begin medical school this summer. During my career as an attorney I have worked for and with many politicians. The bottom line is that physicians need to become involved in the political process. Later in life I plan to run for elected office. We need other physicians that are willing to make the same sacrifice. Otherwise, lawyers and individuals from the business sector will continue to carve away at physician reimbursement and autonomy. Since 1960 there have been fewer than 30 physicians elected to Congress--a paltry sum. We need to get to where the decisions are made. If you cannot or are unwilling to do this then you need to have your local decision makers in your back pocket--i.e...campaign contributions--and you need to let them know what you expect from them. (my two cents)

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[Littlemantate]

I do not know if this is directly related but definetly something you all know and hate is the litigiousness of america, especially against docs-well what I find funny, and I am from canada and worked with a canadian doc recently here in america and the way canada is set up-basically all docs pay a piddely amount (500 bucks or something) per year for insurance. The govt takes the funds and basically represents all the docs. If someone tries to sue-they are sueing a govt entity and there have been few suits but of all the ones in the last 10 years-only ONE case was won by someone-basically sueing docs does not exist there. So for all against socialized medicine-which I am, atleast there are a few perks if implemented correctly.

 

[Mephisto]

I was a member of 1199 for RNs when I worked in inpatient setting. Yep! Staff nurses who provide direct patient care (!) with the help from the millitant communist organization such as 1199 are able to tell the big boys and girls...F*** You. If you don't pay us, or don't give pension, or don't pay fpr our family members we're walking out. And sometimes they do. Of course, sometimes there is a judge's order that prohibits striking, the X-mas time of 2005 in NY and the MTA fiasco comes to mind. But at least there is a public awareness. I think doctors must protect their own through some kind of meaningful alliance. Otherwise medicine will be gone, and sold down the river for good, IMHO.

I go to med school at one of the really expensive private ones in Boston. The hospital of the local state medical school (UMass) recently had a 5 hour strike (before a deal was reached) of nurses. It was outrageous. In the year or so leading up to it (when labor talks where happening), the nurse's union was able to use dues to take out ads in newspapers. They talked to reporters who wrote editorials in local newspapers in support of them. The union leaders even wrote editorials and letters to the editors berating the hospital.

When the hospital finally took out their own ad (mind you, the hospital is non-profit, largely medicare funded), the nurses wrote a huge editorial saying that the hospitals took money away from patient care (medicare dollars) to pay for the ad!

When strike happened, the nurses WALKED OUT abruptly without waiting for the back-up scabs to arrive. They left their patients in the ER and in ICU. The hospital was forced to implement a disaster protocol. My friends at over there tell me that many noble nurses refused to leave their patients and got **** from the union for it.

What did it come down to? UMass med used to be a state hospital before being sold to non-profit organization and merged with a private hospital. What the nurses wanted was to keep their state pensions (which if any of you know, tend to be HUGE). The hospital gave in eventually within five hours.

So, the newspaper article the next day quoted the union negotiator as saying something like, "This is a great day for the nurses and the hospital. But most of all, it's a great day for the patients. We did this for the patients." PLEASE! F that! The hospital knew and admitted that it was about money and their end. The nurses should admit it was about money on their end as well. FURTHERMORE, this had NOTHING to do with PATIENTS!

Lastly, somehow the public sided with the nurses. My friends told me that those trucks and cars driving by the picket lines were honking like crazy.

 

[billydoc]

I go to med school at one of the really expensive private ones in Boston. The hospital of the local state medical school (UMass) recently had a 5 hour strike (before a deal was reached) of nurses. It was outrageous. In the year or so leading up to it (when labor talks where happening), the nurse's union was able to use dues to take out ads in newspapers. They talked to reporters who wrote editorials in local newspapers in support of them. The union leaders even wrote editorials and letters to the editors berating the hospital.

When the hospital finally took out their own ad (mind you, the hospital is non-profit, largely medicare funded), the nurses wrote a huge editorial saying that the hospitals took money away from patient care (medicare dollars) to pay for the ad!

When strike happened, the nurses WALKED OUT abruptly without waiting for the back-up scabs to arrive. They left their patients in the ER and in ICU. The hospital was forced to implement a disaster protocol. My friends at over there tell me that many noble nurses refused to leave their patients and got **** from the union for it.

What did it come down to? UMass med used to be a state hospital before being sold to non-profit organization and merged with a private hospital. What the nurses wanted was to keep their state pensions (which if any of you know, tend to be HUGE). The hospital gave in eventually within five hours.

So, the newspaper article the next day quoted the union negotiator as saying something like, "This is a great day for the nurses and the hospital. But most of all, it's a great day for the patients. We did this for the patients." PLEASE! F that! The hospital knew and admitted that it was about money and their end. The nurses should admit it was about money on their end as well. FURTHERMORE, this had NOTHING to do with PATIENTS!

Lastly, somehow the public sided with the nurses. My friends told me that those trucks and cars driving by the picket lines were honking like crazy.

You see! That totally proves my point. Public sees nurses as an underdog, and always is sympathetic to their cause. It always gets the right spin, and is sold to an average gullible ***** as "the truth", and the only "right choice". Couple it with a heavy political backing of the organized Left, the most radical socialist in Congress with guaranteed endorsements at every election...you get the picture. Doctors, like all good guys in today's twisted World loose the information "war". Their image is mostly created by the deranged, and detached from reality Hollyweird, which, IMHO, is a kiss of death to physicians. The society still views doctors as rich and overpaid, somehow not deserving-it-all bastards...in the class warfare the oppressors, and separates them from the "great unwashed" masses, including patients and other healthcare workers. Until the fat slobs who "represent" the doctors of today won't change the image, and won't bring problems to the public awareness...things are just gonna get progressively worse, IMHO. Here AMA could learn from ANA.... BIG TIME

 

[Aloha Kid]

Heard an interesting story by a malpractice lawyer. On a yearly basis, most trial lawyers contribute thousands to colleagues on capitol hill trying to fight against malpractice caps.

Now considering the AMA may not be perfect, they are still arguably the best thing we have in our corner when it comes to fighting for physicians on multiple issues not just limited to malpractice claims. When's the last time you've contributed even a nickle to the cause? Probably haven't yet huh? If you're like me, when I get the fliers in the mail asking for donations and contributions it ends up in the garbage can. Apparently, being a physician isn't all that bad. If you can ignore the tidal wave on the horizon and just keep counting your money, all is well, right?