This letter is in response to a letter you published as a “Flashpoint” piece in the Oct. 18 Tribune-Star. In this letter, Dr. K. Sproul made several statements and assertions that I would like to address.
I should first point out that Dr. Sproul and I are friends. We were partners in medical practice for 15 years and then went separate ways due to differing interests. I like Ken but we disagree on the issue of government control of health care.
He quotes the statement, “The American health care system is a dysfunctional mess.” I would say that most of the dysfunction has been caused by 40 years of government intrusion into the system. Our care of patients in the Medicare and Medicaid systems is always complicated by rules and regulations from the bureaucrats; rules and regulations that are not voted on by our legislators, just handed down from on high when one of them decides that’s the way it should be. It seems like every time one of these people needs to prove he’s earning his pay, he issues a new regulation and the entire medical “system” then has to adapt or not get paid. Every new regulation is accompanied by a massive outpouring of printed material and generates innumerable committees, meetings, revisions, repeat printings, amended instructions, more committees, more meetings, etc., etc., etc., and as soon as we all think we know how to comply, they then decide to add or subtract something and we have to start all over. There are many, many more ways they insert barriers between us and our patients, and most have the objective of denying or delaying payment to hospitals, doctors and all other providers. We all have to have extra employees just to be sure we jump through the hoops they put in the way. Stop for a moment and consider the gigantic industry this whole thing has become. Now stop and consider how bad it all would be if the government ran the health care of every man woman and child in this country!
Dr. Sproul goes on to criticize our life expectancy, infant mortality, high costs, and compares us unfavorably to the socialist nations. If we are so bad, why do people from all these countries want to come to the U.S. for the care they can’t get at home? One example: when colon cancer is found in one of these countries, the patient waits for months to see the surgeon and/or oncologist. He then waits more months for his treatment, be it medical or surgical, as all of these things have to be approved by bureaucrats. In many cases, treatment is denied. In Brazil, Ind., when I find colon cancer, I order X-rays and lab work that is done that day. I also talk to the surgeon and oncologist that day. If our patient needs surgery, we usually do it the next day, or within a week at most. That’s the reality of government vs. private health care. Dr. Sproul says he has been embarrassed to explain “the problems with our American health care system.” I’m not. We deliver the very best health care in the world and I’m proud to be a part of it! The “problems” in our system are mostly of the government’s making, with very large contributions from private insurance companies and the constant threat of malpractice litigation.
Dr. Sproul asserts that “the vast majority” of American doctors want a one-payer government health care system in the U.S. No they don’t. Unlike Dr. Sproul, I have been actively and continuously practicing medicine for 30 years and talk to many, many doctors of all kinds on a daily basis. I have yet to talk to a doctor who wants a government takeover of our medical care system. There may be some, but I haven’t run into them.
Dr. Sproul further states that “the vast majority” (there’s that phrase again) of people in the socialist states “love” their government systems. That’s not what I hear. He also says they are “very happy” to pay high taxes for “free” health care. Really? “Very Happy”? Free? Hmmm. . .
Kennard also thinks all of us in health care are too greedy and “charge much too much.” Even though he hasn’t practiced in a long time, he should know that it doesn’t matter how much we charge, we get paid a set amount. The medical profession and all other providers are so regulated that we are told by others how much they will pay, so the argument (made by many who are intent on clouding the discussion) that we charge too much doesn’t hold water.
While I’d agree with him that there are a few providers that overdo tests and procedures to generate income, I find these people to be a small minority. Most of us are honest people who would never compromise our ethics or our patient’s care with unnecessary things. Even though some — politicians, Medicare bureaucrats, etc. — seem to start with the premise that we are all crooks, most of us are just trying to do the best job we can for our patients and we know we’ll probably make a decent living by doing that.
I have issues with some of Dr. Sproul’s other statements, but will have to address those at another time. I would say though, that I also feel we need to require insurance companies to actually insure people and to drop their old stand-by, the “pre-existing condition” clause, among other things. Tort reform would subtract many more billions from our total than even the most optimistic estimates are now predicting.
— Dr. James E. Stephens
Brazil
Flashpoint
FLASHPOINT: Government created health care’s dysfunctional mess
- Flashpoint
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FLASHPOINT:Bipartisan vs. Nonpartisan
During the primary election season there was much discussion regarding whether bipartisanship is a positive or negative attribute as it relates to the work of the United States Congress.
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I would like to comment on the Senate race just concluded and the direction of American politics and the Republican Party.
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FLASHPOINT: ‘Private’ clubs should be exempt from smoking bans
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FLASHPOINT: Downtown developers should share more details on project
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FLASHPOINT: Be careful when making accusations of ‘racism’
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FLASHPOINT: Historic hotel demolition was shameful day for Terre Haute
In an April 13 article on the potential demolition of historic buildings at Fifth and Wabash for student housing, Mike Ellis says, “I love the old historic buildings and have always had a passion to see them saved and restored. I was an opponent of seeing the Terre Haute House come down and the new hotel go up,” he said. “I have been proven wrong with what that would do for Terre Haute.”
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FLASHPOINT: Notes on saving structural history
There are several reasons why the historic buildings adjacent and west of Roger’s Jewelers should be saved, and why our downtown needs to protect and embrace our remaining historic fabric. First and foremost, rehab and reuse saves our historic buildings for future generations to experience, and the more architectural authenticity our downtown preserves, the more admired and “walkable” it will become.
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FLASHPOINT: Can anyone hear the call from Farrington's Grove
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FLASHPOINT: We have the power to co-exist without violence or prejudice
Innumerable forces in our lives, and throughout our society, seem to have convinced us that immediacy is best. We have to do it now. We have to have it now. We must go there now. We need it now!
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FLASHPOINT: Issue surrounding Florida shooting fueled by race
I am writing as a mother and as president of the Terre Haute branch of the NAACP because there may be some who wonder why the shooting of Trayvon Martin has created such an uproar: “What exactly is the issue?”
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FLASHPOINT: Indiana — open for business
With the 2012 legislative session in the rearview mirror, the two-year work of the 117th General Assembly elected in November of 2010 is complete.
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FLASHPOINT: The Constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act
On March 26, the United States Supreme Court will begin three days of hearings with six hours of oral argument on the constitutional challenge filed by Indiana and 25 other states against certain sections of the federal health care law: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often referred to as “Obamacare.” This historic lawsuit will explore the limits of the power of Congress under the U.S. Constitution.
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FLASHPOINT: The burning questions of ‘Fahrenheit 451’
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FLASHPOINT: Wonderful place to be during a very hard time
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FLASHPOINT: America’s energy brings America jobs
The increase in fuel prices affects many aspects of our daily lives.
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FLASHPOINT: Change coming to the Indiana Statehouse
The General Assembly is about to undergo a major face-lift. I’m not talking about new construction. I’m talking about destruction — partisan destruction, in fact.
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FLASHPOINT: White House rejects Keystone XL: Sad day for U.S. workers
Imagine a project that could create 20,000 American jobs during construction, and as many as half a million longer-term positions.
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FLASHPOINT: Graduation rates are up; great news for Indiana
As Hoosiers celebrate the conclusion of a truly remarkable Super Bowl experience, there is even more good news that should fill us with pride.
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FLASHPOINT: Tech trail leading us into a dense, digital forest
It seems the Southwest Parke schools are the latest to play the laptop lottery game.
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FLASHPOINT: Republicans enable war on middle class, unions
About six years ago at the pinnacle of the Bush/GOP Dictatorship, I began telling you that the wealthy and Corporate America were laying the ground work to politically, financially and physically take over America.
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FLASHPOINT: Howey ignores truth to advance his agenda
Brian Howey’s Jan. 8 column about the U.S. Senate race proves once again that he will not allow the facts or journalistic ethics to get in the way of attacking Richard Mourdock and promoting his chosen candidate, Dick Lugar.
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FLASHPOINT: Putting fairness first
This time of year, with chords of Auld Lang Syne still ringing in our ears, it’s not uncommon or unnatural to think of days gone by as being more desirable than the era we live in today.
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FLASHPOINT: What really motivates right-to-work proposal?
You may have heard about the upcoming “right-to-work” legislation before our lawmakers in the next session of “law making.”
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FLASHPOINT: The right-to-work debate: ‘Devil at Our Doorstep’
As the 2012 Indiana Legislative Assembly convenes, January will represent a tipping point for all Hoosiers’ individual freedoms as politicians and Big Labor draw battle lines to determine if Indiana will become the 23rd right-to-work state.
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FLASHPOINT: State’s House Democrats will offer alternative for job creation
As the leaders of single-party control in state government outline their agendas for the 2012 session of the Indiana General Assembly, it is easy to be cynical about their intentions in the months to come.
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FLASHPOINT: Community colleges must lead way in reshaping higher education
In the 1970s, I began what was three decades in the automotive industry. ... Today, in my position as president of Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, I see higher education confronted with some of these same challenges.
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FLASHPOINT: There’s little right about ‘right to work’ proposal
The danger contained in these three simple words – “Right to Work” — is that they sound so innocent.
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FLASHPOINT: Is this really the best we can do?
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