What about…..?

the teenager diagnosed with cancer?

the baby born with Downs?

the baby born to a crack addicted mother?

the college athlete who in a game suddenly loses a limb?

the 32 year old soccer mom who is diagnosed with MS?

Yes, I’ve been concerned over the elderly, but under the plan people of all ages would be ‘rated’ as to what their chances of recovery are and assigned treatment based upon that.

Assigned treatment based upon their rating score. How compassionate, how caring, how Christian.

Speaking of being Christian it’s a good thing for Lazarus the Romans didn’t have a government run health care plan for he would have stayed dead. If the miracle isn’t sanctioned for someone already dead – forget it.

On a personal note when my dad was diagnosed with cancer 15 years ago there was no expense, no action, that we wouldn’t have taken to have him stay alive for cancer at 58 is way too young to be told you can’t have treatment that will cure you, only treatment that’s palliative.

Finally, an idea that will appease all parties. I’ll start a 501c3 to raise money for those who need a bus ticket to Canada so they can have Canadian rationed care.   This will lower the cost on the American system as well.

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Statement from the American College of Surgeons Regarding Recent Comments from President Obama

The following statement from the College was issued to media across the country yesterday:

Statement from the American College of Surgeons Regarding Recent Comments from President Obama

CHICAGO–The American College of Surgeons is deeply disturbed over the uninformed public comments President Obama continues to make about the high-quality care provided by surgeons in the United States. When the President makes statements that are incorrect or not based in fact, we think he does a disservice to the American people at a time when they want clear, understandable facts about health care reform. We want to set the record straight.

•  Yesterday during a town hall meeting, President Obama got his facts completely wrong. He stated that a surgeon gets paid $50,000 for a leg amputation when, in fact, Medicare pays a surgeon between $740 and $1,140 for a leg amputation. This payment also includes the evaluation of the patient on the day of the operation plus patient follow-up care that is provided for 90 days after the operation. Private insurers pay some variation of the Medicare reimbursement for this service. 
•  Three weeks ago, the President suggested that a surgeon’s decision to remove a child’s tonsils is based on the desire to make a lot of money. That remark was ill-informed and dangerous, and we were dismayed by this characterization of the work surgeons do. Surgeons make decisions about recommending operations based on what’s right for the patient.

We agree with the President that the best thing for patients with diabetes is to manage the disease proactively to avoid the bad consequences that can occur, including blindness, stroke, and amputation. But as is the case for a person who has been treated for cancer and still needs to have a tumor removed, or a person who is in a terrible car crash and needs access to a trauma surgeon, there are times when even a perfectly managed diabetic patient needs a surgeon. The President’s remarks are truly alarming and run the risk of damaging the all-important trust between surgeons and their patients.

We assume that the President made these mistakes unintentionally, but we would urge him to have his facts correct before making another inflammatory and incorrect statement about surgeons and surgical care.

About the American College of Surgeons

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and to improve the care of the surgical patient. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 76,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world.

Sincerely,

L.D. Britt, M.D., FACS, Chair of the ACS Board of Regents
John Cameron, M.D., FACS, President of the American College of Surgeons
Andrew Warshaw, M.D., FACS, Chair of the ACS Health Policy and Advocacy Group
Christian Shalgian, ACS Director, Division of Advocacy and Health Policy

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