My comment to Change.gov

I am an intensive care physician. I am also involved in organized medicine at a high level.

15 years ago, if you had asked a group oh physicians which healthcare reform they would chose and offered them the British national Heath Service model, a German Social Health Insurance style system, a French Single Payer system or keeping our current system and just tinker around the edges using our current private health insurance system, most would have chosen tinkering.

Now I don't believe that is the case. Now, the current system is dismissed out of hand by most physicians as a reasonable choice as is, frankly, the British system. But now, my colleagues ask me about those other systems, particularly the German style SHI system.

Physicians are data driven. We see that our outcomes are poor compared to every modern Western Democracy and we pay exorbitantly for it and our system is unfair.

The one thing that alarms me, personally, is that the German and French systems seem to be dismissed out of hand for political "reality". We have to reach out to the health care professionals in this country and teach them about the alternatives available to us and they will join us in real healthcare reform.

A little evidence to back me up:http://cmhmd.blogspot.com/2008/04/amnews-april-21-2008-more-physicians.html

http://cmhmd.blogspot.com/2008/10/daily-kos-my-old-friend-karl.html

http://cmhmd.blogspot.com/2008/04/jackson-and-coker-physician-survey-on.html

http://cmhmd.blogspot.com/2008/02/most-minnesota-doctors-like-single.html

http://cmhmd.blogspot.com/2008/12/excluded-voices-cjr.html

There's more at http://cmhmd.blogspot.com

Thanks.

Sphere: Related Content