how many of you are on Obama/Biden transition teams for healthcare?

[w8liftinglady]

http://change.gov/agenda/health_care_agenda/
I have a question...
Have you actively sought participation from physicians in your area?I think their input is crucial,yet ones I have spoken to have no idea this is taking place..

[rurallib]

1. marked for to returm to later

thanks for posting this.

[supernova]

2. I haven't signed on yet, but I want to

I think UHC will be my new Mission in Life. ;-)

I think it's crucial that healthcare professional and patients be involved in the process of designing a new system. It should all be designed as an as convenient and comfortable experience for the patient as possible while still maintaining a professional and safe atmosphere for staff.

[patrice]

3. I think that started in our area when Sicko came out.

We're seeing the effect of that outreach now; doctors ARE showing up at the meetings I've been to. One thing they are concerned about is how the new e-medical-records system will be paid for. The smaller practices can't handle the expense.

...................

Note to self: talk to my primary care physician about this (again) when I see her the next time.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. Well, my physician is on the team

At least she's been invited to come to the meeting this Monday, as have I.

[w8liftinglady]

5. cross-posted in GD-I need some input on how to involve docs...

[phillysuse]

6. I went to a Doctors for Obama meeting last week -

there were about 15 doctors present from residents to elderly attending physicians.

The consensus of our meeting was that single payer was the way to go but that the Obama team had decided to continue to work with the for-profit health insurance companies and that the best we could hope for would be a government plan for the uninsured.

The worry was that the government plan would become basically Medicaid - it would be enriched in patients with chronic medical problems and poverty; the reimbursements for physicians would be low and most physicians would elect not to be part of the government plan. Our conclusion was that the only way this could be prevented would be if government officials from the President on down to all Federal employees and all State government officials and employees were given the government insurance plan without the choice of for-profit private insurance companies. The government plan would have to be significantly better than the for profit plans in terms of quality and not just cheaper.

We were all somewhat chastened by the reality that the Obama team is not going to confront the for profit health insurance industry.

[supernova]

7. It's going to take massive demonstrations

somewhere on the level of the Vietnam War protests and the pro reproductive rights marches to get UHC.

The leadership for it won't come from Washington; Washington will have to be forced into it by massive public upheaval and support for it.

And I think pro-UCH MD groups and patients' rights groups should lead the way.

[rocktivity]

8. As an employee of a company that depends on Medicare patients, I don't think I can moderate

But since the insurance companies are plotting to send out surrogates to attend these meetings and assure people everything's fine, I don't think it would be unethical to attend one.

:headbang:
rocknation