Rare News Desk
A Maine eye doctor repulsed by Sen. Angus King’s (I-Maine) appearance on Fox News, decided to write him a letter detailing the various ways that Obamacare has affected medical practices.
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In that interview, King told Chris Wallace, “There’s no such thing as Obamacare.”
The doctor, whose name was redacted from the letter, explained that there is in fact such a thing as Obamacare and it has hurt people in the following ways.
1) Patients have lost coverage
“Many have lost coverage AS A DIRECT RESULT OF OBAMACARE. When rates went up … many patients told me their employers dropped their plans.”
2) Sticker shock has turned many of the uninsured aside
“Most–I would venture about 85 percent–looked into the exchange policies and had sticker shock. First, the premiums were high. And, while the subsidies helped with the premium, there was no way around the heady deductibles–whether they qualified for subsidies or not, my patients didn’t think it was a good deal.”
3) The insured are unhappy too
“Now as for the lucky few who still have coverage, every one of them has seen an increase in their premiums. No new benefits–just added costs.”
“I have yet to see a SINGLE patient tell me he/she was happy with this law–but I’ve seen hundreds who are really angry.”
4) Regulations have heaped additional costs and stresses on doctors
“Regarding the EMR [Electronic Medical Record], by the way, I used to finish my day at 5p. That’s when I’d get my notes completed. With the EMR my day ends at 8p.”
“[B]asically 50% of my day 70+ hour work week is compliance and 50% is taking care of sick people!”
5) Physicians aren’t getting paid, and they’re leaving
“Because of pending SGR’s (proposed 20%+ Medicare cuts for physicians), Medicare slows to a trickle from mid February to the end of March–with a complete stop through mid-April. Basically, physicians aren’t being reimbursed for two months.”
“Now let me tell you what is happening: Physicians are retiring in droves. My daughter, who is studying to be a doctor, says half of her fellow [medical] students are looking to go to business school or go to pharmaceutical companies–no one wants to practice medicine anymore. Can you blame them?”
The doctor ended the letter by saying, “Thank you for listening to me–tonight I won’t make it home until 9:30 for dinner, but, in contrast to the meaningless bureaucratic rot I normally have to plough through, maybe this will have some value.”
You can read the whole letter below.
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