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Letter to Obama From the Mad As Hell Doctors
As one of the Mad As Hell Doctors from Oregon, I had the surprising good fortune of being an uninvited, but welcomed, guest to the President Obama's recent meeting in the Rose Garden with "physicians from around the country." I hand-delivered the following letter to one of President Obama's aides. I wonder. Has he read it?
October 5, 2009
Dear President Obama,
Although I
would dearly appreciate being invited to speak with you and the other
invited physicians this morning, I understand this is problematic and
unlikely. I must, therefore, settle for a letter in which I hope to
express a great deal of compassion for the difficulty of your
predicament. You are caught between those on the right, some of whom
want you to fail and accuse you of going "too far", and those on the
left, like myself, who, passionately, want you to succeed and, equally
passionately, want a real solution to our health care crisis.
As
you may know, in September, the Mad As Hell Doctors from Oregon wended
our way to Washington, visiting twenty-six cities in twenty-two days,
telling uncomfortable Truths about our health care system, none of
which is news to you, but I state clearly for those who might be
eavesdropping.
• We spend more than twice as much per capita as most of the rest of the industrialized world.
•
By the standard measures of performance, the United States ranks 37th,
internationally, in health care outcomes. Not exactly anything to be
proud of.
• Forty-five thousand people die every year in our country because
of barriers to obtaining appropriate medical care in a timely manner.
•
And, finally, we are the only developed country in which people often
go bankrupt because of health care costs and three fourths of them had
health insurance at the time they became ill.
We spoke to people about the moral imperative of true Universal
Access and the main barrier to accomplishing this: cost. We explained
why it cost us so much. Undeniably, we waste 20% of all our health
care money servicing an Insurance industry that adds nothing to the
health and complicates the lives of our providers. As you know, the
other drivers on excessive cost, include, among others
• the primary care crisis
• the chaos of medical records,
• the fear of liability,
• the mass marketing of prescription drugs,
• the pressure for profits,
• "our" unrealistic expectations, especially at the end of life, and
• the perverse incentive incentives that are created by the fee for
service reimbursement mechanism that encourages physicians to do more
and more and more without regard of "just enough".
Bypassing
the insurance industry with a Single Payer Solution is NOT just about
saving 20%, immediately, so we can afford Universal Access. It's about
having a system with which to deal with the other drivers on cost, as
does every other developed country in the world. More accurately,
today, instead of a health care system, we have a "for-profit private
insurance-based sick-care non-system." You know what I am talking
about.
In the course of our trip, we learned as much we taught. Enthusiastic supporters of our message told us a multitude of stories that deepened our understanding that our system is broken and corrupt beyond most people's wildest dreams. Our neighbors suffer in unimaginable ways, like the gentleman who lost his job after his wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. His employer simply couldn't afford to keep him on the payroll. His insurance carrier would have increased the cost of premiums for the rest of his employees. As if having a wife with MS isn't painful enough, he might lose everything. Only in America. Shame on us.
In the meantime, Senator Max Baucus is proposing legislation that was literally authored by a health insurance insider. Indeed, our legislators seem to be partnering with The Industry, whose financial well-being seems to trump the needs of our people. It would appear that our Representative and Senators, on both sides of the aisle, think they need Industry money for campaign financing more than they need to show some courage to make the difficult decisions necessary to give us a sustainable health care system.
I believe you understand that none of the health reform bills that are being seriously considered by either side of Congress will accomplish true Universal Access without breaking the bank. Could it be that fixing health care is less about health care than our political process in which the Industry manipulates public policy so that it reflects profits more than public good? Neither we, nor the American people, nor the families of the 45,000 people who died last year find this tolerable. Neither does the gentleman who lost his job for merely having the misfortune of a wife with MS.
Mr. President, tell us the truth about the failed health care reform debate that has been manipulated by The Industry. It's a tough spot but we call on you and Congress to show some courage by delaying the passage of health care reform legislation until public health authorities, health care providers, patient advocates, economists, and health system administrators participate in a public process to determine how we can get the most health for our precious health care dollars. They should start the discussion with a clear understanding that access to essential health care is a basic human right. The health insurance and pharmaceutical industry have demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are only interested in profits. They should be kept out of the room.
We think this is fair. We think this is democratic. And as physicians who have sworn an oath of care, we believe it is the only socially, morally and ethically responsible course of action.
Best regards and best wishes for a successful administration.
Paul Hochfeld M.D.
(representing the Mad As Hell Doctors from Oregon)
- Posted in
73 Comments so far
Show AllNow here is someone speaking the truth about the slight of hand going on in Congress.
If you've read this article.....and if you still support any of Obama/Pelosi/Waxman's garbage on health care....you are on the wrong site. Let me point you to Human Events. You belong there.
'henry8'
I just love it when a 'conservative' makes the statement that if you do not think like them, "you are on the wrong site. Let me point you to Human Events. You belong there".
This is typical of the conservative mind set. In fact it feeds into their very definition of conservative, i.e. to 'maintain the status quo'--regardless of the fact that the conservatives have had almost unfettered control since the Reagan era; and undeniably have made an absolute mess of everything they lay their hands on.
If the arrogance of such 'blind obedience' were not so damaging to the 'others who do not follow' it would be 'high comedy'. Which proves one of my contentions that to be conservative in the USA one must 'dumb themselves down to the level of a rock'; and just 'pray for better times'.
And just one more typically conservative behavior, you direct the reader of your post here on CD to a site that would disqualify the majority of the readers of CD.
The site that YOU say "you belong there" is published on a 7th grade reading level which would be far too low for most of the readers of CD---they might enjoy 'Dr. Seuss and the Cat in the Hat'--- more.
So if being a conservative means to 'dumb yourself down to the level of a rock';
would that make you 'henry8', the rock of ages'?
I may be wrong but I don't think H8 was endorsing Human Events, just saying that if you think single-payer is not the way to go then you need to hang with your fellow travellers at Human Events. My guess, again I could be wrong, is that H8 is all for single payer, "Medicare for All", whatever you want to call it.
You have it exactly right. Thanks for pointing it out.
I think you misunderstood H8, NS.
NativeSon
I believe you misunderstood what I said. Please read it agin. Thanks.
Common Dreams:
Thank you for publishing this gut-wrenching and most factual letter from the "Mad as Hell Doctors from Oregon" to President Obama.
Thank you to those physicians for telling the truth:
"I believe you understand that none of the health reform bills that are being seriously considered by either side of Congress will accomplish true Universal Access".
Only single-payer health CARE, not INSURANCE, will provide all people with what IS a basic human right as the doctors have stated.
They are asking for Obama to delay any legislation and take the pharmaceutical and insurance industries out of the room.
Will Obama listen to the people, the majority who, want single-payer health care?
Will Obama listen to the people, the majority, who want single payer health care?
No.
Of course you are right.
Obama will NOT listen to the people.
I already knew this before I did NOT vote for him.
Wish I could say the same for those who did!
Ok...OK....I'm sorry!!
Single payer, not single prayer.
We have lots of money to pay for this, it is just that Iraq and Afghanistan are the beneficiaries of our largess not US citizens.
Are you kidding me, The Afghanistan and Iraq are beneficiaries of usa largess... Just ask the mothers of the kids killed and maimed by the need for oil.
.
It just amasses me how cheaply the congress and president of the USA are bought off..by the corporations...We must get them all out of office while we still have some thing left in this country..We are thinking that the only way to do this is to starve the corporations by stop buying anything.. Just start by not shopping on Sunday it is easy if you try..
Correction...the US corporate criminal operatives workin Afghanistan and Iraq are the beneficiaries...as well as big pharma
Excellent open letter!
But aside from an obscure web site of the url "commondreams.org", and even more obscure Mad as Hell Doctors web site, who will read it? It would make an excellent op-ed in a major newspaper. Did MAHDrs. submit it?
Of course, the papers will likely reject it for publication, because of the truths it exposes that most stay deeply memory-holed, but they should at least try.
There can be no argument with logic like that!
Obama would never read a letter as lengthy as this, so I am glad you made it public for the people who really will read it. Appeals to reason and humanity today take a very distant seat in back of the power of money these days. When our government stops being a "pay to play" operation, your letter may have more impact on our government.
Let's help get the word out. Post a link on Facebook or other social media.
Obama would never read a letter as lengthy as this...
Is that sarcasm, or do you really believe this? Could the POTUS really have that limited an attention span? I guess if he us like most USAN's, he does...
Actually, I really believe this. In this fast-paced world of ours, incredibly busy people like the President just don't have time to read letters this long. Back one hundred years ago, a President not only had the time to read a lengthy missive, but actually sent a personal reply! Today the rules are the three S's for getting the attention of the powerful: be Sincere, be Short, and be Seated.
You are correct in this. But not only is it true that most people will not read a letter this long, it is also true that most people will not even read. When I was doing home inspections, I was horrified at the percentage of 'homes' I entered which had no books in them. None. Only a TV with chairs and TV trays grouped in an arc like a religious altar. When I was teaching high school, I was further horrified to discover that most of my fellow teachers also lived that way. TV and video. Few books. That situation has developed since the advent of commercial television in America. What has followed is the demise of neighborhoods, and finally, of families. The fast pace is fed and exacerbated by television, and caused by the increasing stranglehold of the corporations on every aspect of our lives. Entertainment is all there is, and the current generation of parents do not even know that there was a time, not so long ago, when entertainment was a small piece of American life. Today, it is everything. In America today, reading is a radical activity, even though 40% of us do it a lot. But it is not enough. TV owns the 55% who cast the majority of votes. Why should Obama read it? He, and the others, know that only the 55% matter. We do not.
MichaelC
I can't beleive anyone is calling this a "long letter"!
It has 910 words. I thought it was brilliant in it's ability to summarize the complex problem and the solution in so few words.
None of the memos I write as a government technical adviser for mine safety could ever be this short - and overworked mine inspectors still are able to read them. I understand that the POTUS relys on advisers, but if he cannot even read this, things are even worse than I thought.
This thing takes about 75 seconds to read......thats not a long letter. And its certainly not to much time to allot to something important.
edit...and I agree, I thought it was brilliant too. Simple, honest and complete.
Sioux Rose
MICHAEL: Excellent post. I had a phase a few years ago where I was either traveling, subleting the home of a professor friend, or taking care of a parent near the end of his/her life. It was too expensive for me to retain a residence, so I put everything in storage. I must have had 50 boxes of books, and now that they are finally on shelves they are precious to me because some are out of print and thus difficult to find, some I love, and in general, they are not only worth their original price, but several years of storage fees!
My daughter pointed out that her half-sister who has kept her children out of public school has NOT taught her two sons to read! My daughter related that there is not even a book in the house. I have noticed other people like that, too, although it is absolutely ALIEN to me. I get along with my books better than a lot of relatives. Reading is the key to empathy, for it truly places the reader inside another's thought process. I wonder if anyone has done a study linking the lack of interest in books/reading, with the breakdown of empathy, caring, and compassion in our society?
Sioux, some people feel that children are learning to read at too early an age. My daughter has a friend who home schooled her daughter and did not teach her to read till she was quite old. The daughter turned out to be quite exceptional and very creative. She is now a brilliant law student at a very good university.
I'd also like to mention that books should not take the place of good old-fashioned story telling. When my daughter's son was small she would have him choose three words and she'd weave a story around them. How I, her mother, loved those stories!
Sioux Rose
GANDY: Okay, I guess it CAN work both ways (as per age of teaching reading).
As for story telling, I am quite good at it; or maybe it's the inspiration drawn from having wide-eyed adorable children wanting to be told a story. When my daughters were pre-school I began telling stories that became numerous children's books. And now my grandson asks for them, plus, he likes my voice! I've done a few tunes for him and when he calls he asks me to sing them into the phone. When my daughter decided to leave Florida about 6 months ago he was sitting on the ropeswing suspended from a huge oak in my front yard and he asked me to sing "The Sun Go Bye-Bye Song," and as I did, my voice kept breaking as I couldn't hold back the tears knowing he'd no longer be my buddy for daily adventures into the state park. He calmly said, "Try again, Grandma." How I adore that child! We have a turtle song, a train song, and several others. The dog has to stand in as audience for new tunes these days!
No matter what the intentions are of the designers of a political system, and no matter how one labels a political system (e.g. "democratic," "communistic," etc...), there will inevitably be universal and unlimited abuse of the common people as long as the decisionmakers, usually the elites, are insulated from the pain and struggles of the common people. They must be forced to feel the pain of the common people or the abuse will continue.
Excellent point!
*BEAUTIFUL* insight!
nowhere is the subservience of the politicians more on display than in this health care debate - if that's what you want to call it
the instance of the health insurance company suing the state of maine over "guaranteed profits" theother day is a good example of the mind-numbing greed and avarice of the proiteers
clearly against the public interest they argue for a system of death by profit with no conscience or morality
of course the senate's and congresses' own health care system (provided by the taxpayers at no cost) is the picture of a robust all-inclusive package
a package - though good enough for them - is too good for us apparently - the kind of dream package that has never even been mentioned in this debate because clearly - we the people - are not worthy
it underscores how much of our poverty and peasantry we have bought into and internalized that we don't even ask for a system as good as those on our payroll - and the payroll of the industries they are supposed to "oversee" - healthcare, the envirnment, mic etc
obama has pulled his twinkle toes act and has been skirting the issue since day one - not even bothering to develop his own plan at all
we have wads and wads of cash top kill innocent iraqis and afghanis but none to take care of our own citizens
there are the priorities
spill blood for corporate profit in every corner of the world - corporations who don't even pay their fair share of taxes - and then at home - drain the blood of the poor and working class drop by drop down the sewer
the president the congress and the senate are bought and paid for and we need to keep that in mind - we have seen how little they care - despite the bullshit they utter in sound bites on the news
after all it is the fool who keeps doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result
in short, we need a new plan stan
we need a public option
we need to get the big businesses out of the health care industry - they have proven they do not belong at the table
they have no interest other than profit
they are the venereal disease of this debate and we need a good shot of penicillin to get rid of them
We do NOT need a "public option".
We need single-payer health care for ALL which is what Dennis Kucinich signed with John Conyers HR676.
Single-payer health care IS what Obama and Congress have.
Getting "big business out of the health care industry" means supporting SINGLE-PAYER health care, not Obama and Congress' propagandic, mercurial, shape-shifting, gift to insurance industry, "public option".
Please stop confusing "public option" with single-payer health care. It is NOT the same thing or remotely close.
Go Sue!!!
Sue,
I'm impressed you actually read that whole piece despite the fact it's written in some strange form of English void of punctuation and capitalization.
Let's hope he didn't read it but that Michelle found it and read it and insisted on reading it aloud to him. We're all about hope, aren't we? If he's got true backbone and gives a damn he'll respond publicly to the letter. Come on, Michelle, make him do it! Where's Lysistrata when we need her? Where's Obama's Howard Beale moment? Or anybody's in the house or senate's for that matter? Ever? It better be some damn good memoirs if he or any of those 'representatives' are waiting for their memoirs to speak out about all that change we coulda believed in.
Unfortunately Americans are now forced to consider alternative therapies their ailments. I'd prefer we always have the option between allopathic and naturopathic medicines but the medical industry is forcing Americans into Naturopathic cures.
I healed my CIN III cervical dysplasia, naturally.
I interviewed a woman who healed herself of MS naturally.
The audio of this interview is free to download or stream at
http://www.foodpowers.com/cori_brackett.html
Nerissa
www.FoodPowers.com
Unfortunately the AMA is always on the move to not only undermine and discredit natural health care and medicines, but to get natural supplements off store shelves. They would love to see it all made completely illegal, and for naturopathic and folk healers to go to jail.
Don't forget that Big Insurance doesn't even cover alternative practitioners and alternative medicine. You're right about trying to make all natural medicine illegal. CODEX which was part of CAFTA has already led the way ever since CAFTA passed in 2005.
Just shows once again that the givers and receivers of health care will not be allowed to have anything to do with so called health care reform in this country. It's the profiteers, the parasites of the health care industry, who will make the rules.
While an interesting appeal, think too much of the focus here (and in the comments) presupposes that Obama will listen if we 'hold his feet to the fire'. Obama is, and can only be a representative of the very system people are righteously hammering against. It's not a matter of him having more 'courage' or 'spine'...this is Capitalism 101.
Check out a really heavy and timely critique (with solution!) provided by Raymond Lotta, a Maoist Political Economist: Healthcare under Capitalism, Healthcare under Socialism.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7eHGtA7CSs
Thank you, Mad As Hell Doctors. Wonderful letter and summary-frame of the issue. Perfect for emailing and mailing to friends and representatives. Yes, I know the system is corrupt, but we can do no better than to expect better from them. I will do everything I can to make this congress do what it should while we await some perfect future congress or some painless revolution.
I hope along with your sarcasm-wielding abilities you are not averse to 'doing everything you can' to get HR676 passed. There's gotta be some Tommy Douglases out there SOMEwhere!
Thank you Dr. Hochfeld. Your letter is the best rationale I've seen to dismantle our "for-profit private insurance-based sick-care non-system," and replace it with a single payer system.
I hope the President does read your letter. I hope many more Americans also read it.
The government owns the hospital.
The government buys all equipment and supplies used by the medical community.
There is no charge to the patient for using any of the above.
Now let's negotiate pay for administrators and staff!
Simple is better!
There you go again lebeau---
"...corporations WHO..."
Everytime I see those two words put together it feels like a carbuncle. STOP GRANTING PERSONHOOD TO CORPORATIONS at any linguistic level.
The converse also drives me crazy: "people that."
We are being dehumanized by this daily use of bad grammar. Pretty soon (if the 5-4 Supreme Court has its way) corporations will have the right to vote and you won't! You will be in jail for smoking an overtaxed cigarette in a public place (but you can't jail a corporation, can you?).
Things are getting downright insidious...
-30-
take it ez ole man - you don't want to die from stress before you are fully dehumanized
i won't call the corps "who" or anything like that anymore
Dr Hochfeld, you and the other Mad as Hell doctors are true practitioners of the Hippocratic Oath. Nothing in your letter is news to Obama (remember his dying mother?) but the order came from him that single payer was not to be considered, nor even mentioned. It was he who brought the pharmaceutical lobbyist (Billy Tauzin, no less!) to the White House for secret meetings to cut sweetheart deals that will enrich the industry. Obama and Billy agreed on no more drug imports from Canada, and no Medicare negotiating for lower drug prices in return for the industry making a sincere effort to control prices.
So we are all on our way to being forced into purchasing a "health care" policy which, as Ron Wyden likes to term it, "is tailored to fit our budget" or face annual fines of nearly $4000 a year (if they cared a rat's ass about us, a fine would be put into a health care account). We won't get what we need, but what we can afford. Which in most cases will be nada. That is, worthless limited policies with sky high deductibles. The insurance industry is conceding on preexisting conditions, but nothing else, and has made it clear it will not relinquish the right to rescissions and denial of treatment. All this is going on right under our noses and the majority of Americans have no idea what is happening. How can anyone call this a democracy or even a republic when the public doesn't know what's going on?
When the people fear their government there is tyranny,
when the government fears the people there is liberty.
~ Thomas Jefferson
Exactly. And our President and most of our legislators are true practitioners of the hypocritic oath as per Machiavelli's "The Prince".
As another commenter pointed out, words don't move these bastards; only money and fear of losing power moves them.
1) Register as an Independent. Then call congress members and tell them what you did and that you plan to try to get others to do the same .
2) Close your account at any of the four major banks. BofA, CIti, Chase, Wells Fargo and put it into a smaller bank or credit union. Make sure when you do so to tell the bank manager that you are linking their "reversal in fortune" to the big money being used in DC by LOBBYISTS to break our backs. Get others to do the same. Take your money and power AWAY from them. Stop feeding the beast. Start using the most powerful tool we have to smash the cartelz.
Take MONEY and POWER away from them.
That lovely young lady Senator Olympia Snowe insisted on a reduction of the prospective penalties, but the bill overall remains dead on arrival and will have the unlikely distinction of doing literally nothing of consequence for long term cost control. From whether the health care system will help or hurt the overall economy perspective, until fee for service is reformed, all other reforms are a waste of time.
Have a good weekend Common Dreamers.
I applaud the good doctor for his activism, BUT he trivializes the impact of insurance companies on the excessive cost of health care when he brings up
"...the fear of liability,
the mass marketing of prescription drugs..."
The whole tort reform arguement becomes invalid when you look at the statistics and realize how hard it is to sue and how few legitimate malpractice cases even make it to Trial.
About the marketing of prescription drugs - we need price controls on pharmaceuticals.
Single Payer is the only answer.
Well said.