PHYSICIAN PRESCRIBES THE CURE
FOR AN AILING OBAMACARE
Positive input from the Patient-Advocate Doctor to Protect the
Future of Medicine and the Doctor-Patient Relationship
Elaina George, M.D. calls it like she sees it and gives an insider’s view of what it is really like to practice medicine on the front line. Her bold look at “Obamacare’s Health Inequality” is a Prescription that offers a cure for the ailing US healthcare system.
A wake up call from a physician of note strikes at the heart of the Affordable Health Care Act today as Elaina George, M.D. delivers a view of Obamacare as a practicing physician along with some considered alternatives. The message comes from an impeccable source. Dr. George is a Board Certified Otolaryngologist, whose credentials are like a Who’s Who of medicine. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Biology. She received her Master’s degree in Medical Microbiology from Long Island University. Dr. George earned her medical degree at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. She completed her residency at Manhattan Eye Ear & Throat Hospital. She has her own radio show Medicine on Call and has been a guest on dozens of national radio and TV shows sharing her expertise on Obamacare.
Unfortunately the wisdom of a physician like Dr. George was not part of the solution offered to us when the health care act was written. Dealing with the harsh realities now facing the nation Dr. George chooses to speak out, loud and clear.
“The debate on whether to repeal, amend or let the process continue to its conclusion has devolved into a heated argument where it is all about winning at any cost. But while pundits and politicians are preoccupied with winning, people are dying, people are losing their financial underpinning, and there is both a transfer of health and a transfer of wealth.” says Dr. George. “In short, the healthcare system is breaking into a two-tiered system – those who are relegated to Obamacare will be trapped in a system which locks them out of the very best healthcare that our country has to offer while those who can afford to simply opt-out.”
A Thoughtful Alternative from Dr George
“Whether we like it or not, Obamacare is the law of the land. It has fundamentally changed the American healthcare system. We can’t afford to be distracted by the disastrous roll out, nor can we yield to glittering idealism that obscures the facts. Truth is: the government has inserted itself between the doctor and the patient by taking control of the system – from a doctor’s treatment options to a patient’s choice from cradle to grave, and everything in between,” warns Dr. George.
According to Dr George the answer to affordable healthcare is not found with increasing government centralization and mandated health insurance, the answer to cost effective healthcare instead lies in the power of the free market.
Health insurance companies loom as a barrier between the physician and patient. If there is a way to trump the myth that the health care system will benefit from being run by mega insurance companies that operate like a Pac-Man gobbling up profits at the expense of patient centered care, Dr. George “slays the dragon” for us.
“When people are ‘self pay’ they can make a ‘deal’ with the doctor for a flat fee or sliding scale according to their ability to pay. Because there is no ‘fee scale’ set there are no rigid rules. Since the doctor collects the payment at the time of service there is no need to hire an army of people to ‘work’ the claim to get it paid. (I have waited over a year to get paid by the insurance company). Less layers mean you can pass along the savings to the patient,” George points out. “Most of the time it is cheaper for a patient to pay for a service instead of using their insurance because they have to pay deductibles which can be as high as $10,000. The surgery centers, radiology, and labs pass on savings just like the physician when they don’t have to deal with the insurance company.
“In each case the pressure of competition leads to customer service, and there is a pressure to keep the service affordable, but quality rules,” she reminds us.
Is This The End Of The Doctor Patient Relationship?
Dr Elaina George subscribes to the Hippocratic Oath she took as a practicing physician with a total dedication to the whole person including the protection of human dignity as well as optimum good health as she probes today’s Obamacare dilemmas.
“The current belief that everything will be rosy if everyone has health insurance is fundamentally flawed because having health insurance does NOT equal having access to affordable quality healthcare. The players involved with crafting Obamacare helped to craft a law that doubles down on the worst aspects of the health insurance problem. This explains why 30 million people will remain uninsured even if Obamacare is ever fully implemented,” she points out.
Cost Effective Healthcare from Independent Physicians?
“The mantra of ever increasing healthcare costs caused by unscrupulous doctors has been dinned into our collective consciousness without regard to facts. The truth is care given by an independent private physician is the most cost effective type of healthcare received. If the independent private physician and the patient had been given a seat at the table, they would both have provided a powerful voice to distill the problems and provide solutions. After all who knows better about what is broken in a system than those on the front line who have to advocate for their patient while doing what it takes to make payroll, and those who want to find the best and most cost effective health care respectively.”
Dr. George continues, “Academic solutions to health care such as buying health insurance across state lines and keeping children on their parents health insurance until age 26 are great talking points, Unfortunately, they ignore the reality that there is still no cap on what an insurance company can charge the patient in out of pocket expenses; they can still deny coverage after a medical service is rendered; and they can still deny needed medical care on the basis of what they decide is medically necessary or what care will be allowed because they consider it experimental without regard to what the physician finds is medically indicated.
“Instead of starting with the doctor patient relationship as the core of what it takes to provide efficient, excellent individualized cost effective healthcare, the middleman has been empowered, driving bureaucratic layers with regulations and committees that inevitably increase cost. That cost is borne by the patient in longer waiting time, rationed care, and replacement of their trusted physician with less experienced extender providers such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners. There has even been a movement towards expanding the scope of practice by allowing pharmacists to write prescriptions and nurse practitioners and physician assistants to perform certain surgical procedures in the name of providing access and cutting costs. However, there is no way to calculate the cost that a patient may pay with a missed diagnosis or a botched procedure in the one size fits all conveyor belt driven medical system that is being set up,” says Dr. George as she shares her critical concerns as a practicing medical specialist who is also deeply concerned for the nation.
A PRESCRIPTION TO SAVE LIVES: THE FUTURE SOLUTION
“The two-tiered system that is being created under the auspices of Obamacare can be broken by following the alternate path of free market medicine which is alive and well and thriving. By removing the insurance company and government middlemen, patients will find that their costs will drop precipitously. They will once again have their choice of doctor, have the procedures they want, have a quality relationship with their doctor who will be able to spend time with them, and know what their costs are up front. The options are myriad, from urgent care centers staffed by board certified ER physicians that charge a flat fee, to surgery centers who list their prices, to websites where you can bid for medical services, to doctors who barter, to cost sharing ministries which are allowed under Obamacare guidelines.
“Each of these strategies provides an option that will give the patient true control of their health care dollar to spend in a system where there is true competition that is driven by innovation, customer service, collegiality and personal responsibility on the one hand instead of cronyism, control and coercion on the other,” proposes Dr. Elaina George.
* Elaina George, M.D. training included general surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital, pediatric ENT at The NY-Presbyterian Hospital, and head and neck oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. She has published in several scientific journals and presented her research at national meetings. As a solo practitioner in private practice she believes that excellent patient care is based on a partnership with her patients. Each patient is treated as an individual and all treatment options are discussed. Surgery is usually recommended when all other options have been exhausted and when possible she will explore natural treatments. She believes in treating the problem and not just the symptoms. Dr George is a recipient of the Patient’s Choice Award in 2008 and 2009. She was recently honored with membership in The Leading Physicians of the World and Who’s Who Top Honors Edition.
Dr George’s interests include the treatment of sinus and nasal disorders with minimally invasive office techniques, snoring, obstructive sleep apnea, allergies with sublingual immunotherapy (drops placed under the tongue to treat both food and environmental allergies), and thyroid surgery. She treats both adults and children. She is on staff at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Scottish Rite Hospital and Atlanta Outpatient Surgery Center.
Please visit Dr. George’s websites at: http://www.drelainageorge.com