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Health Care Law - Supreme Showdown: A look at Pres. Obama's national health care law's impact on physicians and hospitals
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Suicides you the patient doctors day in and day out have a firsthand view of what ails our health care system.
What do they think is the best solution to fix this system.
What do they think has been the impact of the health care law and what will happen if it gets struck down joining us is doctor.
Out there an emergency room physician and actor Ernest patty senior attending physician of emergency medicine at saint bottomless hospital.
In the -- first -- -- him out there I'm curious of what has been the.
Impact so far -- in London implementation of this health care a lot to you.
Well I mean they've started to do some of the Medicare.
Reimbursement -- back but there's a problem with Medicare there's going to be a problem either -- -- With this -- because they're gonna add a bunch of Medicaid patients to we already have a problem with Medicaid it 30% of doctors in this country don't take Medicaid so the -- the only place that they can com.
And then what's happening is a lot of states right now are trying to stop their access to emergency care so.
Whether they strike it down or not they gonna have to account for the problem with Medicaid right now and what's gonna happen -- more Medicaid patients come into the fold as they expand.
-- to patty got two questions -- what is sort of the impact -- you as a doctor and doctors are also -- patients I got mad -- I can also give me some viewpoint how I have you know you're gonna be a patient what feel like if not sooner or later as I think don't impact the.
-- yes we've we've all been patients and you know let's face it we need reform reform is needed because the current.
Recipe that we have is not working what I'm happy about though is they managed to keep the prudent layperson standard there which basically let's us.
Allow.
Our patients to come in and still be seen for emergency care you know we we can't put the onus on the patient to sit there and say -- that chest -- I have it's just.
A bomb stomach -- us some indigestion.
You know that was something that really concern me as an emergency physician I don't want my patients self diagnosing themselves.
I want them to come in and be seen by competent physician and be treated for their emergency conditions.
Doctor -- -- do you have a sense that this is the right direction are good idea four doctors.
And also for patients not to say question gonna be patient when -- like you're not sooner or later anyway we all are.
Or is this year is its health care law -- -- been you or -- too early to tell whether it's good or bad or indifferent.
Well I think it's a little early to tell but the truth of the matter is whether we need a reformer not just -- -- giving people insurance coverage.
Doesn't guarantee them access to care and the ER is always the safety net that there -- picking up the slack.
That's a -- if you could doesn't do anything -- health care what would be your program if you could define and and -- and set went up.
Well we have a lot of things that we have to work on we have to work on medical liability reform.
We have to also address issue other issues such as these synthetic drugs that are now appearing in now greater quantities on the street.
We have to also make sure that we.
Taking good care of and make certain that we don't have drug shortages I don't know if you're aware but the US has been suffering from critical drug shortages for the past few years and they seem to be anymore more common every day.
I -- we need reform everybody agrees reform.
Are we on the right track -- this national health care law would you like to say scrap it and go to a different model.
I would say we definitely need to keep the -- dialogue going and keep going forward I don't think we need to scrap anything I mean.
Everybody needs to be at the table and work you know I had to further this but remember there's going to be different recipes for different parts of the country.
Back to Belgrade this turned to health care law the present that -- in an effect right now I'm scrap it and start all over and -- a different model or what.
Well I I think also agree with doctor patty back.
There are parts of that that may be should be scrapped because it's too complicated too onerous people aren't sure what's gonna happen I mean Moody's is already reporting.
You know rating changes related to what's gonna happen -- the bill goes up and down -- how it's gonna affect industry.
But I think there's some basic important think that we need to make sure there are not primary care doctors they can see patients we need to make sure if you get insurance coverage.
That there will be a place you can go can't prevent people from going to the ER.
Because of their final diagnosis -- indigestion.
You know chest pain was indigestion not not a heart attack.
And but it's it's a slippery slope and it's it's a very tough issue to tackle with one bill.
