Saturday, July 10, 2010

1952 Cunningham in the Rain










Some may disapprove of driving such a car in the rain. However, no race would have been called off for rain. And the experience of being there was deeply moving. This car won a 12 hour all out race in 1953. So, live with it, all overweening, pansy car critics.

It should be noted, no car was harmed in the filming of this clip. Back inside, it had a thorough blow drying with compressed air hoses.

Coming Shortage of Physicians

If there is a shortage of something, shouldn't its price go up? The earnings of New Jersey physicians are in free fall. And HMO's carry legal immunity and appear to be above the law.

It is usually argued that tort liability is a substitute for violent revenge. If that is true, then the obverse is true. Immunity fully justifies violence.

Addressing the Anticipated New Jersey Physician Shortage
7 July 2010
By Patricia A. Costante

In recent months, there have been several reports published that have forecasted dramatic physician shortages in New Jersey. The New Jersey Physician Workforce Task Force Report published by the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals projects a shortfall of more than 2,800 physicians by the year 2020. Even more alarming is the fact that the 2009 report of the Resident Exit Survey (an annual report prepared by New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals) shows a precipitous decline in the number of graduating medical residents who are choosing to practice in New Jersey. In 2009, only 32% of graduating residents stated that they intended to establish a practice in New Jersey, which represents a 15 percent decline in just one year. This report indicates that the anticipated 2,800 physician shortage may be closer to 3,250.

While the recent reports from the New Jersey Council on Teaching Hospitals have brought renewed attention to the issue, the impending physician shortage is not a new concept. Since 2005, a number of reports and studies have been published by at least 29 states and the Association of American Medical Colleges that have stated that the United States will be facing a shortage of 150,000 doctors by 2025.

The anticipated physician shortage in New Jersey will likely be felt at perhaps the worst possible time, as we all start to experience the impact of President Obama’s healthcare reform. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, primary care physicians, identified as general practitioners, internists, family physicians and pediatricians, will play a significant role in coordinating the care of each of their patients, especially those with multiple chronic conditions. The New Jersey Physician Workforce Task Force has concluded that there is already a current shortage within primary care specialties. As New Jersey’s insured population gets set to expand by nearly 1.3 million patients, the supply of primary care physicians will clearly be insufficient to respond to the growing need. There are also many specialties that are predicted to have shortages, particularly neurosurgery and pediatric subspecialties.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Distress About the Doubling of Army Suicides

One refers the Army to colleagues in the Air Force. Without hand wringing, nor $50 million study, they cut the rate, at little additional cost.

The results were duplicated when assertive case management was instituted in a nation. Same effect from aggressive management in an HMO.

Effect of Obamacare on Doctors

The news is mostly bad.

Obamacare and its Impact on Doctors
14 June 2010
By Robert E. Moffit

Don’t expect doctors to give the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act a clean bill of health. The act will reinforce the worst features of existing third-party payment arrangements in both the private and public sectors — arrangements that already compromise the professional independence and integrity of the medical profession.

Doctors will find themselves subject to more, not less, government regulation and oversight. Moreover, they will become increasingly dependent on unreliable government reimbursement for medical services. Medicare and Medicaid payment, including irrational government payment updates, are preserved (though shaved) and expanded to larger portions of the population.

The Act creates even more bureaucracies with authority over the kinds of health benefits, medical treatments and procedures that Americans get through public and private health insurance. The new law provides no serious relief for tort liability. Not surprisingly, various surveys reveal deep dissatisfaction and demoralization among medical professionals.

Under the new law, an estimated 18 million of the 34 million who would gain coverage over the next 10 years would be enrolled in Medicaid, a welfare program jointly administered and funded by the federal government and the states.

Such a massive Medicaid expansion will displace private health coverage, and expand government control over health care financing and delivery. Physician payments in the major entitlement programs, Medicare and Medicaid, are well below the prevailing rates in the private sector. On average, doctors in Medicare are paid 81 percent of private payment; physicians in Medicaid are paid 56 percent of private payment. Needless to say, today there are sporadic access issues for patients in Medicare, and major access problems for patients in Medicaid.

The new law does not substantially change the general pattern of the government’s systems of physician payment. Indeed, it only expands their reach and adds new regulatory restrictions. For example, beginning this year, the new law will prohibit physicians from referring patients to hospitals in which they have ownership, with the exception of hospitals that treat a large number of county patients enrolled in Medicaid.