(written 10:04am June 12, 2009)
Firstly, I'll refer you to the following article from the Huffington Post by a practicing physician.
In light of recent events in Washington, D.C. regarding health policy, I'd like to set the record straight about the AMA and medicine in America.
1. The AMA is comprised of some incredibly large and incredibly powerful business interests.
2. The AMA has some big friends in high places in Congress.
3. America remains the one 1st-world country where medicine can still be a mind-blowingly profitable business.
4. The majority of physicians in this country think we should have some form of universal coverage, if only for children, so appropriate preventive care can be given to everyone.
5. One of the biggest obstacles to an efficient system can be attributed to the AMA and Ronald Reagan, who ran an ad that coined the term "Socialized Medicine" during the Cold War.
6. No matter what horror stories you've heard about Canada, remember that their system is not the gold-standard (France's is) and that the bottom line is that everyone in Canada can get treated eventually, whereas in America, many go without.
7. Breaking a limb or getting cancer should not be tantamount to bankruptcy in the richest country in the world.
The one anecdote that will forever be distilled in my mind is the time I was sitting with Dr. Wolff and Diane in their kitchen, discussing these eminent changes. He sat at the table, absentmindedly stroking their teacup-sized dachshund as his giant brows knit together in a frown. Looking down vaguely at the table he said, slowly shaking his head, "I should have joined the AMA years ago. Maybe I could have done something so that we wouldn't be stuck in this position."
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