American Thinker has a thought provoking article today by Dr. Zane F. Pollard. He is a pediatric opthamologist in Atlanta. Dr. Pollard has some thoughts on Obamacare (he's not a fan) and offers some personal examples as evidence against government run health care; here is one of several he offers:"I have taken care of Medicaid patients for 35 years while representing the only pediatric ophthalmology group left in Atlanta, Georgia that accepts Medicaid. For example, in the past 6 months I have cared for three young children on Medicaid who had corneal ulcers. This is a potentially blinding situation because if the cornea perforates from the infection, almost surely blindness will occur. In all three cases the antibiotic needed for the eradication of the infection was not on the approved Medicaid list.
"Each time I was told to fax Medicaid for the approval forms, which I did. Within 48 hours the form came back to me which was sent in immediately via fax, and I was told that I would have my answer in 10 days. Of course by then each child would have been blind in the eye. Each time the request came back denied. All three times I personally provided the antibiotic for each patient which was not on the Medicaid approved list. Get the point -- rationing of care."
He has many such examples that are, well, scary. Obama likes to say that Republicans are "fear-mongering" when arguing against Obamacare, but Dr. Pollard's stories are truly scary. They aren't fear-mongering; they are true stories of a doctor trying to practice medicine against the bureaucracy of Medicaid and Medicare. He tells of colleagues that have quit practicing because of the government boondoggle and warns of a physician shortage under Obamacare.
Dr. Pollard also writes about his elderly patients, one a 70 year old woman and a 69 year old man; both would likely have been rejected as surgery candidates under Obamacare because of their age.
Consider this anecdote: "Last week I had a lady bring her child to me. They are Americans but live in Sweden, as the father has a job with a big corporation. The child had the onset of double vision 3 months ago and has been unable to function normally because of this. They are people of means but are waiting 8 months to see the ophthalmologist in Sweden. Then if the child needed surgery they would be put on a 6 month waiting list. She called me and I saw her that day. It turned out that the child had accommodative esotropia (crossing of the eyes treated with glasses that correct for farsightedness) and responded to glasses within 4 days, so no surgery was needed. Again, rationing of care."
So easy to fix, but would not have been under Obamacare.
Be sure to read his entire article. If Dr. Pollard has this many examples, what about other doctors? Pollard points out that even though the AMA has come out in support of Obamacare, it only represents 17% of the American physician workforce. I'd venture to say that a lot more doctors are against it than are for it.
He has many such examples that are, well, scary. Obama likes to say that Republicans are "fear-mongering" when arguing against Obamacare, but Dr. Pollard's stories are truly scary. They aren't fear-mongering; they are true stories of a doctor trying to practice medicine against the bureaucracy of Medicaid and Medicare. He tells of colleagues that have quit practicing because of the government boondoggle and warns of a physician shortage under Obamacare.
Dr. Pollard also writes about his elderly patients, one a 70 year old woman and a 69 year old man; both would likely have been rejected as surgery candidates under Obamacare because of their age.
Consider this anecdote: "Last week I had a lady bring her child to me. They are Americans but live in Sweden, as the father has a job with a big corporation. The child had the onset of double vision 3 months ago and has been unable to function normally because of this. They are people of means but are waiting 8 months to see the ophthalmologist in Sweden. Then if the child needed surgery they would be put on a 6 month waiting list. She called me and I saw her that day. It turned out that the child had accommodative esotropia (crossing of the eyes treated with glasses that correct for farsightedness) and responded to glasses within 4 days, so no surgery was needed. Again, rationing of care."
So easy to fix, but would not have been under Obamacare.
Be sure to read his entire article. If Dr. Pollard has this many examples, what about other doctors? Pollard points out that even though the AMA has come out in support of Obamacare, it only represents 17% of the American physician workforce. I'd venture to say that a lot more doctors are against it than are for it.
