The Circus

 

Four days from now the three ring circus begins (Dems, Repubs,and Obama) on Thursday and Blair House in Washington, D.C.

Finally (maybe)an attempt at transparency will take place. It's been over a year since these plans for health reform were 'reconciled' in closed room, with secret deals, and legislative trade offs.

I am sure it makes us all feel good to know our health  care is now legislated in a back room.

I  belong to several specialty group listservs and professional health care blogs.  The tone on these forums has changed radically.  One of these groups is an ophthalmology forum.

Many on this forum plan to announce this coming week they will no longer be accepting medicare patients in their practices. This, because of the March 1 deadline for a 21% cut in Medicare reimbursement. This figure is an accumulation of about 5%/ year which is the sum of the number of times this cut was delayed by last minute tack ons to legislation delaying the reductions.

Undoubtedly this will occur again, but only by an uprising of protest by physicians  and patients.

They will all downsize, and shift their professional efforts toward elective non medicare reimbursements.  Those who still have choices will make them according to responsible measures and 'balanced budgets.    Unlike our federal government we cannot print money.