Physicians Are Talking About: The Million Med March on Washington

[Emit]

Uh-oh, now the docs are marching on DC...

Physicians Are Talking About: The Million Med March on Washington

"I'm tired, mad as hell, and just not going to take it anymore," says Richard Chudacoff, MD, a gynecologist from Las Vegas. "I am going to Washington, DC. At noon, on Thursday, October 1, 2009, I will be on the Mall with a few other physicians."

~snip~

"We simply decided that we will not work that day and perhaps the day before and maybe even the day afterward," says Dr. Chudacoff. "Perhaps we will show the country that physicians are worth more than a $5 copay; that physicians are more important than a mid-level healthcare worker; and that our profession is needed, our services are required, and our practice is a calling to be respected, not a trade that is to be negotiated to the lowest bidder."

A letter posted by Dr. Chudacoff on www.obgyn.net in June has been spreading like wildfire across the Internet, finding its way to personal blogs, discussion groups, and professional forums. On June 23, it was posted to Medscape's Physician Connect (MPC), a physician-only discussion group, where it sparked a flurry of responses. A number of MPC postings suggest that Dr. Chudacoff will have plenty of company on October 1.

~snip~

The mandate as stated on the Million Med March Website includes the following points:

* Services must be adequately reimbursed so that we may spend more time with our patients and not be forced to see an unsafe number of patients to pay for increased business costs.
* Less money must go into the hands of insurance companies' administrative costs, and more money must go towards patient care and medical research.
* We must abolish third-party payers or prevent a single-payer system for office visits and medical services; these services are costly to the patient, physician, and society as a whole.
* Our patients need access to brand-name drugs that are as affordable in the United States as in Canada and Mexico.
* We must have medical malpractice reform, with caps on all damages, so that we can practice without the fear of needless and unwarranted lawsuits that only benefit attorneys.

~snip~

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/news/newsRev/2009/NewsRev-327.html#_Physicians_Are_Talking

On edit, looks like we may just have a bunch of better educated tea partiers with this group. Still trying to figure out what they are about. Single-payer, universal health care, or even the public option, ain't it though, for these folks. Wonder if they're going to team up with FeedomWorks, lol.

On further edit, looks like they are going to meet up against the madashelldoctors - I just saw Joanne's post here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6607442

Both groups are descending upon DC Oct 1, it appears. :crazy:

[Skittles]

1. K&R

[Emit]

3. Their website sez: "Heathcare Providers in America against Socialized Medicine."

and they want a Patient is the Payer system:
...
The MillionMedMarch supports a stronger Physician-Patient Relationship where the Patient is the initial Payer. Restore the right of the patient to privately contract with their doctor. Private and government insurance can become involved, and can deal directly with the patient. Doctors believes that when the Patient is the Payer, the patient pays what the market allows for any particular service. The patient will be directly involved in the decision making and would have an equal stake in keeping the care affordable and without the added expense of unnecessary testing by practicing insurance medicine. This will increase the strength of the patient-physician relationship, making each responsible to the other, as well as increases the responsibility of the patient to seek out the best medical care they can find. This also forces the physician to provide the best medical care at the most competitive prices. The MillionMedMarch believes this will reduce the need for unnecessary insurance interference and rewards competency and efficiency for providing quality and timely healthcare.
...
http://www.millionmedmarch.com/mission.html

[Trillo]

7. I'm not sure how this helps minimum-wage workers get healthcare.

Or the unemployed.

Though it's great they can march on Washington. Perhaps their example of shutting down health care for a few days will inspire others, such as sundry workers--the masses--to similar effect.

[drm604]

28. This particular group of physicians is not on our side.

They are against any form of government health insurance.

[Mind_your_head]

2. self-delete

[Trillo]

4. what does this bullet point mean

"We must abolish third-party payers or prevent a single-payer system for office visits and medical services"

Okay, before the logical operator they want to get rid of middlepeople like insurance companies, after the lagical operatore they want to prevent a single-payer system for "medical services".

Does it mean they want people to pay as individuals without collective bargaining power?

[Emit]

5. See my post #3 above

[Emit]

8. Here's more from their website

....

President Obama and Congress are pushing "reform" that will move America closer to government-run system like Canada or Britain. If the succeed, most Americans will no longer be able to keep insurance they have. Instead, they will be forced into government-run health insurance market, with most people enrolled in a government-run health plan.

....

[Barack_America]

38. Well, that tells me all I need to know.

The fact that they're peddling mistruths tells me that I need look no further.

[drm604]

6. I wonder how many they really represent.

I doubt that it's a large percentage of Physicians.

[Emit]

9. The doc quoted in the OP guessed a few hundred

On edit, maybe the tea baggers can join them so their numbers can be in the millions

[drm604]

10. www.millionmedmarch.com

Their website http://www.millionmedmarch.com stinks of astroturf to me. I'm still trying to track down some connections.

[Emit]

11. Watch this video clip and tell me what this guy says in the end

He's talking about the march and his film that he's making and says something about his 'working title': 'denied to deny hope they die' or something like that. Do you understand what he says?

http://www.millionmedmarch.com/index.html

[drm604]

12. It sounds like what you said.

I have no idea what it means.

[Emit]

13. Me neither. What the heck does it mean?

Any time they these groups start talking about people dying, usually means the repukes are behind it. I mean, "hope they die"? WT heck?

[drm604]

15. Ignore

Posted in the wrong place.

[angrycarpenter]

14. My girl friend had an appointment on the third.

and they called her today to reschedule because the doc had to go out of town that day, I wonder.

[Emit]

16. Well, looks like we have two or three disparate groups here

these two groups here, Docs4PPatientCare and MillionMedMarch, don't want "Socialized medicine."

The Madashelldocs want single-payer.

And they are all marching on Oct 1 (madashelldocs' website says they'll be in DC 9/30-10/1).

Hopefully, her doc is with the Madashelldocs!

[drm604]

17. millionmedmarch.com

Oh this is getting interesting.

http://whois.domaintools.com/millionmedmarch.com

Whois Record
Registrant:
MDspas
248 Palermo Avenue
Coral Gables, Florida 33134
United States
Domain Name: MILLIONMEDMARCH.COM
Created on: 03-Jul-09
Expires on: 03-Jul-10
Last Updated on: 03-Jul-09
Administrative Contact:
Abuzeni, Patrick
MDspas
248 Palermo Avenue

MDspas is a plastic surgery clinic in Coral Gables, Florida.
http://www.mdspas.com

Patrick Abuzeni is their medical director
http://www.mdspas.com/MDspas/aboutDirector.html

So not exactly astroturf. This does appear to originate with real physicians.

But still...
Looking around the site it appears that they do elective cosmetic surgery - Botox, tummy tucks, liposuction, that kind of thing. In other words, elective procedures that insurance does not cover. Their clientele probably consists mostly of wealthy people who want to change their appearance and can afford to pay for it themselves.

So why are they so concerned about health insurance? Does this strike you as a little weird?

[Emit]

18. He was a Booosh supporter in '04

http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?city=KEY+BISCAYNE&st=FL&last=ABUZENI&first=PATRICK

[Emit]

20. And McCain/Palin, too, doh!

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:w2LGgAcs0n0J:www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/florida_miami_33134.asp%3Fcycle%3D08%26mode%3Ds+Abuzeni,+Patrick+political+donations&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

I'm sure Dick Armey has them on speed dial. I just read a story this past weekend that back in 07 or whenever Bush was having his town halls about SS reform, a son of some politician was invited to be a guest - and to talk positive about it at the town hall. FreedomWorks called him and offered to pay for his and his families trip. I'll try to find a link.

[drm604]

21. freeourhealthcarenow.com

Their resources and links page links to this: http://www.freeourhealthcarenow.com

Look at that and tell me that it's not astroturf.

[drm604]

22. Oh Ho!

Freeourhealthcarenow links here: https://secure.ncpa.org/support2/?Promo=Other

Nation Center for Policy Analysis!

http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=National_Center_for_Policy_Analysis

Founding Board Members
* Wayne Calloway, President and CEO of Frito-Lay
* Jere Thompson, President and CEO of the Southland Corporation
* Robert Dedman, President and CEO of ClubCorp
* Russell Perry, President and CEO of Republic Financial Services
* Sir Antony Fisher, President and CEO of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation
Board Members
* Pete du Pont, Former Governor of Delaware
* John C. Goodman, President, NCPA
* W. Mike Baggett, Chairman & CEO, Winstead Sechrest & Minick PC
* Don A. Buchholz, Chairman of the Board, SWS Group, Inc.
* William J. Gedwed, President and CEO, HealthMarkets®
* Harlan Crow, Chairman, Crow Holdings
* John Victor Lattimore, Jr., President and Chairman of the Board, Lattimore Properties, Inc.
* Fred Meyer, Investments
* Henry J. Bud Smith, Chairman Bud Smith Organization
* James Cleo Thompson, Jr., Chairman of the Board, Thompson Petroleum Corporation
* Jere W. Thompson, President, The Williamsburg Corporation
* Michael L. Whalen, President & CEO, Heart of America Restaurants & Inns
* Raymond E. Wooldridge, Private Investor
* Robert J. Wright, President, TWG, Inc.

The funding list looks very familiar.

Funding
Foundations gave the following amounts to the National Center for Policy Analysis think tank in 2005:
* Sarah Scaife Foundation - $125,000
* Earhart Foundation - $40,000
* Armstrong Foundation - $45,000
* The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Inc. - $195,000
* Gordon and Mary Cain Foundation - $25,000
* Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation - $25,000

The NCPA web site states that in 2006 it receives 62% of its funding from foundations, 21% from corporations, and 17% from individuals. Between 1985 and 2005, the Center received $8,499,850 in 161 separate grants.

Previous years:
* Castle Rock Foundation
* Earhart Foundation
* JM Foundation
* Koch Family Foundations (David H. Koch Foundation, Charles G. Koch Foundation, Claude R. Lambe Foundation)
* John M. Olin Foundation, Inc.
* Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
* Philip M. McKenna Foundation, Inc.
* Scaife Foundations (Scaife Family, Sarah Mellon Scaife, Carthage)
* DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund
* El Paso Energy Foundation
* ExxonMobil Foundation
* Eli Lilly and Company Foundation
* Lilly Endowment
* Procter & Gamble Fund

We cracked this one pretty quick. I wonder if MDSpas isn't being paid to front for the millionmedmarch thing.

[Emit]

25. lol! Just posted similarly

[Emit]

24. No, it links to NCPA

National Center for Policy Analysis

https://secure.ncpa.org/support2/?Promo=Other


Info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Center_for_Policy_Analysis
...
The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) is an American non-profit conservative think tank.<1> The NCPA states that its goal is to develop and promote private alternatives to government regulation and control, solving problems by relying on the strength of the competitive, entrepreneurial private sector. Topics include reforms in health care, taxes, Social Security, welfare, education and environmental regulation.

The NCPA was founded in February 1983<2> by British businessman Antony Fisher<3> and Dallas businessmen Russell Perry (CEO of Republic Financial Services),<4> Wayne Calloway (CEO of Frito-Lay), John F. Stephens (CEO of Employers Insurance of Texas),<5> and Jere W. Thompson (CEO of the Southland Corporation).

The NCPA received media attention recently for its promotion of encouraging automatic enrollment into companies' 401(k) plans. NCPA President John Goodman also recently partnered with Wall Street Journal editorial writer Kim Strassel to author a book, Leaving Women Behind: Modern Families, Outdated Laws (ISBN 0742545458).
...


With the familiar faces funding them:
...
NCPA's revenue in 2007 was $8.7 million.<7> The NCPA web site states that it "receives 70% of its funding from foundations, 20% from corporations, and 10% from individuals."Its foundation sponsors include the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, the Earhart Foundation and the Armstrong Foundation.In 1992, the New York Times reported that NCPA was partially funded by the insurance industry .<1> According to Greenpeace, NCPA received $540,900 from ExxonMobil in the ten-year period ending 2007.<8>

[drm604]

27. Seems like I'm always seeing that same list of funders.

Scaife and Koch are always popping up. :grr:

[Emit]

29. Yeah, you'd think they'd eventually run out of money

with the number of right wing thingies they finance, lol. Sheesh. They're everywhere.

[drm604]

31. They won't run out.

We're talking about some of the richest families in America. They spend their wealth to protect their wealth, and the little guy be damned.

[Emit]

32. Sadly, yes, I know

my post was in jest

[Emit]

33. More than 1.3 million Americans go on the record to protect 'choice, access, fairness and responsibi

More than 1.3 million Americans go on the record to protect 'choice, access,
fairness and responsibility'

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Leading opponents of
government-run health care provided a massive demonstration of strength today,
as the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) and Salem Radio Network
delivered the more than 1.3 million signatures behind their joint "Free Our
Health Care Now" petition to Congress at a rally held on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ),
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), House Minority Whip Eric Cantor
(R-VA), House Republican Conference Chair Mike Pence (R-IN) and Republican
Study Committee Chair Tom Price (R-GA) headed a large delegation of Members on
hand to take delivery of the largest health policy petition ever delivered to
Congress. The petitions will be presented to Congressional leadership.

The NCPA, a leader in public policy research for more than 25 years, provided
the content and analysis on almost all facets of the debate, including
educational guidance on the framing and substance of the petition itself.

"Today, more than a million Americans stood up and were counted in the debate
over how best to repair a dysfunctional health care system," said NCPA
President and Kellye Wright Fellow John C. Goodman. "To the naysayers who have
dismissed the town hall protestors as unrepresentative of the American people
as a whole, we present this petition as evidence the opposition is real, it is
deep, and it extends to voters in all 50 states."

The petition was launched on May 25 by the Salem Radio Network team of
nationally-syndicated talk show hosts. Mike Gallagher, Bill Bennett, Hugh
Hewitt, Michael Medved, Dennis Prager and Janet Parshall reach millions of
listeners each week and cover 90 percent of the United States.

Cont'd: http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS198141+09-Sep-2009+PRN20090909

More: Looks like John C. Goodman is an old hat at destroying health care reform:

John C. Goodman is NCPA president and CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis. The Wall Street Journal and the National Journal, among other publications, have called him the "Father of Health Savings Accounts," and the Media Research Center credits him, along with former Sen. Phil Gramm and columnist Bill Kristol with playing the pivotal role in the defeat of the Clinton Administration's plan to overhaul the U.S. health care system.

http://www.ncpa.org/about/john-c-goodman

[drm604]

36. Massive astroturf.

Notice who headed the "large delegation". All "R"s next to their names. I doubt that anyone will be swayed by these 1.3 million signatures. The Republicans (and dinos) will do what they wanted to do all along, and the real Democrats will hopefully consider the source and ignore them.

[slipslidingaway]

26. I would imagine that specialists would have the most to lose...

in a SP system, but that is off the table anyway.

:shrug:

Interesting info, thanks.


This survey shows support for national health insurance among physicians...surgical subspecialties, anesthesiologists and radiologists were the groups who were the least supportive of a national insurance system for all.

http://www.pnhp.org/news/2008/march/most_doctors_support.php

http://www.pnhp.org/docsurvey/annals_physician_support.pdf

[Juche]

19. How do they expect to pay for health care

* We must abolish third-party payers or prevent a single-payer system for office visits and medical services; these services are costly to the patient, physician, and society as a whole.



What other option is there? People can't pay out of pocket for meaningful health care (surgery, etc).


And this part


* Our patients need access to brand-name drugs that are as affordable in the United States as in Canada and Mexico.


It bothered me that he mentioned 'brand name drugs'. Makes me wonder who he is working for. Maybe I'm wrong.



FTR, doctors making money off of medicine is a huge problem. That is what Atul Gawande found out. When the doctor makes money recommending certain tests or procedures, then you run into higher spending.

[DemoTex]

23. My brother is a highly paid and very liberal radiologist.

Some of the members of his group are of the opposite political persuasion. One, an African-American woman (MD), was recently featured in a Michelle Malkin blog. My brother was stunned by this black female MD's embrace of the extreme right.

[slipslidingaway]

30. Your brother does not have a lot of company according to this survey...

radiologists are at the bottom here.

2 page pdf
http://www.pnhp.org/docsurvey/annals_physician_support.pdf

[MisterP]

34. Canada had a brief doctor boycott in like '66 when Douglas's plan was about to start n/t

[SoCalDem]

35. Mad Med.. the new reality "show"

I hope a BUNCH of them show up.. THEY should have been the ones on TV 24/7..not the teabagger crackpots and all their loony republican legislator-pals.

[drm604]

37. This group is siding with the teabagger crackpots and all their loony republican legislator-pals.

They are not on our side. Read the rest of this thread.

[SoCalDem]

39. Darn.. I saw a few docs on tv yesterday saying they were in favor of public option

oh well..back to the drawing board

[drm604]

40. I think quite a few docs are in favor of the public option.

Maybe even the majority of them. But the particular group mentioned in the OP isn't.

[Emit]

42. As I noted above

we have two or three disparate groups here

these two groups here, Docs4PPatientCare and MillionMedMarch, DO NOT want "Socialized medicine."

The Madashelldocs want single-payer.

And they are all marching on Oct 1 (madashelldocs' website says they'll be in DC 9/30-10/1) separately, I presume.

[Cleita]

41. If the opposition is against universal health care, you can be sure none of

them will be allowed to remove even a splinter from my finger in the future. Hopefully, the other doctors can talk some sense to them if they do meet up and clash.