Regis Philbin
May 20th, 2007, 09:27 PM
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-docs14may14,1,4766802.story?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=1&cset=true
Some doctors don't like this Medi-Cal prescription
Schwarzenegger's plan would tap physicians to help pay for universal healthcare. The issue has left the medical profession increasingly divided.
By Jordan Rau, Times Staff Writer
May 14, 2007
SACRAMENTO — With an outraged tone, Dr. Samuel Fink dismisses Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to tap physicians to help pay for universal healthcare.
"That makes about as much sense as taxing teachers to provide a better education, or taxing Assembly members or senators to pay for upkeep of the Capitol," said Fink, a Tarzana internist. "We're part of the solution, not the problem."
But Hector Flores, a family physician who practices in East Los Angeles, is in a minority that supports the governor's idea of collecting 2% of physicians' gross income to help pay for a $4-billion increase in Medi-Cal payments that the state makes to doctors who tend to the poor.
"Most of the physicians who complain about this aren't really serving the Medi-Cal or low-income population anyway," said Flores, whose 22-doctor office treats a large number of uninsured and poor patients. "These are the docs who don't mind paying $10,000 to join an exclusive club somewhere."
Represented by one of the Capitol's dominant lobbies, California's physicians are respected for their successful ability to forge a united front against incursions into their field. But this year, when healthcare is the central issue before the Legislature, the profession is practicing the political equivalent of defensive medicine, grappling with their increasingly divided membership as they try to ward off proposals that would hurt them economically.
Along with trying to block Schwarzenegger's proposed assessment, the California Medical Assn. is working to persuade Democratic lawmakers to increase Medi-Cal fees without placing a levy on doctors' incomes. The CMA, which represents about half of the state's physicians, also opposes a proposal to create a single government-run insurer out of concerns it would lead to low reimbursement rates like those from Medi-Cal.
All these efforts, critics charge, expose tensions that physicians prefer to downplay between their roles as patient advocates and as members of a lucrative profession.
Some doctors don't like this Medi-Cal prescription
Schwarzenegger's plan would tap physicians to help pay for universal healthcare. The issue has left the medical profession increasingly divided.
By Jordan Rau, Times Staff Writer
May 14, 2007
SACRAMENTO — With an outraged tone, Dr. Samuel Fink dismisses Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to tap physicians to help pay for universal healthcare.
"That makes about as much sense as taxing teachers to provide a better education, or taxing Assembly members or senators to pay for upkeep of the Capitol," said Fink, a Tarzana internist. "We're part of the solution, not the problem."
But Hector Flores, a family physician who practices in East Los Angeles, is in a minority that supports the governor's idea of collecting 2% of physicians' gross income to help pay for a $4-billion increase in Medi-Cal payments that the state makes to doctors who tend to the poor.
"Most of the physicians who complain about this aren't really serving the Medi-Cal or low-income population anyway," said Flores, whose 22-doctor office treats a large number of uninsured and poor patients. "These are the docs who don't mind paying $10,000 to join an exclusive club somewhere."
Represented by one of the Capitol's dominant lobbies, California's physicians are respected for their successful ability to forge a united front against incursions into their field. But this year, when healthcare is the central issue before the Legislature, the profession is practicing the political equivalent of defensive medicine, grappling with their increasingly divided membership as they try to ward off proposals that would hurt them economically.
Along with trying to block Schwarzenegger's proposed assessment, the California Medical Assn. is working to persuade Democratic lawmakers to increase Medi-Cal fees without placing a levy on doctors' incomes. The CMA, which represents about half of the state's physicians, also opposes a proposal to create a single government-run insurer out of concerns it would lead to low reimbursement rates like those from Medi-Cal.
All these efforts, critics charge, expose tensions that physicians prefer to downplay between their roles as patient advocates and as members of a lucrative profession.