The Medical Establishment Took The Treasury’s Keys

According to Uwe E. Reinhardt, an economics professor at Princeton, about half a century ago, organized medicine and the hospital industry in this country struck a deal with Congress.

In retrospect, it was as audacious as it was incredible: Congress was asked to surrender to these industries the keys to the United States Treasury.

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Direct Care Is The Most Political, Least Political Healthcare

Originally posted on KevinMD.com

This post deserves a caveat — healthcare shouldn’t be a political issue. When someone comes into my office because they have chest pain, I don’t ask them “What’s your political leaning?” before administering care. And now after reading about the recent delay of ICD-10 in Congress, I realized that my choice in practicing Direct Care was the most political and least political thing I could have done.

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That Didn’t Take Long. Congress Delays ICD-10 Legislation.

icd10

Congress is now going to vote to delay the ICD-10 implementation date.

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Sure, Stage 2 Meaningful Use Regulations Are Great. That’s Why Providers Want A Two Year Delay In Their Implementation.

Fierce Health IT reports that “nearly 50 of the nation’s most influential provider organizations–including the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association and the Medical Group Management Association–are asking for a front-end extension to Meaningful Use Stage 2…” In fact, they sent a letter directly to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius expressing just that. Read more

Congressman Mike Rogers Shreds Federal Healthcare Reform

In case you missed it, you can watch Mike Rogers impassioned response to the soon-to-be enacted ACA. He makes a powerful stand for American innovation in the private sector. Although he doesn’t explicitly mention direct care, we’re glad to draft behind this convincing powerhouse.

Rogers is the U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 8th congressional district, serving since 2001.

Congress’ Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Congress’ Actions Speak Louder Than Words

So we came across some share-worthy news today. Here’s a quote from CMT, referencing Congressional healthcare benefits:

“One of the most unusual perks may come from the Office of the Attending Physician of the United States Congress. For an annual fee of $503, House and Senate members can designate the official congressional physician to be their primary care doctor — meaning they never have to leave Capitol Hill, deal with crowded doctor’s offices or be subject to the same type of care from a doctor as the rest of us.”

This sounds kind of like their own personal doctor, that’s available 24/7, for a fixed yearly price (that’s about a third of what we charge hard working Americans), who provides primary care, same day, with no waits, who fields calls directly… which sounds a lot like what we offer at Atlas MD.

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Direct Care IS The Rare Bipartisan Idea

Direct Care IS The Rare Bipartisan Idea

We came across an article called “The Rare Bipartisan Health Idea: Affordable Concierge Medicine” over on New Atlantic Ventures (navfund.com), a website promoting entrepreneurial endeavors. It makes sense that our Atlas MD style of direct care would be featured there, being as we believe healthcare can administered more effectively when coupled with free-market principles. To us it makes sense to run a business where WE are responsible for our profits and losses, WE interact with our customers directly, and WE succeed by giving them top-notch service. It so happens that in our case, doing our job well means we ensure healthy patients, something we take great pride in.

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