of touch with the needs of patients and the doctors who want to really serve them.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5859738 DU post above refers to this blog by a Doctor dated June 15, 2009 (5 days after the NYT article you referred to:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/gurley/detail?entry_id=41763 "The AMA is an organization that most Americans believe represents all doctors, when, in fact, at a stretch, we're talking about 15%. Even that number is fluffed by including retired doctor members who don't see patients, plus medical students and residents - whose "membership" is almost a freebie foisted on them."
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In fact, the AMA is widely credited with being responsible for our tremendous mess of medical billing (and, therefore, massive overbilling) in the current healthcare system - their procedure-heavy representatives were THE major players in drafting reimbursement codes. You know - the codes that won't pay for your doctor to spend time actually talking to you, but will pay big bucks for a tube in your orifice?
Read more:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/gurley/detail?entry_id=41763#ixzz0kjPVpamo at the link below I provided a partial list of organizaations supporting HCR:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x525645 Just in case you don't feel up to clicking on the link, i took the trouble of providing a partial list of the partial list at link. It includes:
Physicians' and nurses' organizationsAmerican Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Physician Assistants
American College of Nurse Midwives
American College of Physicians
American Nurses Association
Catholic Health Association - (representing 59,000 Catholic Nurses)
American Psychiatric Nurses Association
American Public Health Association
Doctors for America
National Medical Association
National Physicians Alliance
Nurse-Family Partnership National Service Office
Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health
Ryan White Medical Providers Coalition
Organizations representing hospitals and other health providersAlliance for Quality Nursing Home Care
American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
American Counseling Association
American Group Psychotherapy Association
American Health Care Association
American Hospice Foundation
American Mental Health Counselors Association
American Music Therapy Association
American Psychological Association
American Public Health Association
American Social Health Association
Association for Ambulatory Behavioral Healthcare
Association for the Advancement of Psychology
Association of Community Affiliated Plans
Assocation of American Medical Colleges
Clinical Social Work Association
Federation of American Hospitals
Herndon Alliance
National Academies of Practice
National Alliance for Caregiving
National Association of Community Health Centers
National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems
National Association of Social Workers
National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare
PHI - Health Care for Health Care Workers
Therapeutic Communities of America
You see, I appear to have been paying a bit more attention than you have to the Health Care Reform War - or maybe your attention was selective. I could provide many links to my posts on this issue. but it's a law now, and I don't feel like spending too much time on conservative re-writes of reality.
Hope you're not feeling too "slapped down".