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Doctors urged to become more active in fixing health careBy: Lorrine Thompson
"People are beginning to get it, but we're still in trouble in this state." -- Dr. Sam Cullison, Washington State Medical Association PORTLAND -- Washington physicians on Friday were encouraged to close their offices on certain days as a way to speak out on needed changes in the health care system. Called "reduced activity days," or RADs, the closures would give doctors time to talk with patients, legislators, community leaders and others on causes behind a growing health care crisis, said Seattle physician Dr. Sam Cullison Cullison talked of the closures while presenting a report on health care finance reform at the annual meeting of the Washington State Medical Association. "I would say that not
everyone agrees with doing (RADs), but we've seen some interest,"
association spokeswoman Jennifer Hanscom said. "Whether any will
actually happen remains to be seen. It's a big step for physicians." RADs are common in British
Columbia, where physicians close their offices because they aren't paid
enough to stay open all week, she said. "More for us, it's
not about the money. It would be a chance (for doctors) to get out and
talk to people," Hanscom said. Whether or not they close
their offices, Cullison called for physicians to become more active and
outspoken in the reform effort. "People are beginning
to get it, but we're still in trouble in this state," Cullison said. The medical association
launched a reform effort called Citizens United for Reform in 1999, after
signs of major failures in the health care system began to surface in
Washington state, including health networks going bankrupt and physicians
leaving. South Sound was hit hard
with the same problems, which resulted in the loss of the Pro Health
Alliance physicians network, the Memorial Clinic Health Network, Memorial
Clinic itself and dozens of physicians who chose to leave the area. For the health care system
to survive, individuals, insurance companies and the government will need
to move in new directions, said Cullison and Olympia neurologist Dr.
Maureen Callaghan, who headed an association task force to look into
financing reform. Although the task force
studied different options for paying for health care, it did not recommend
one new system to replace the current one. "There didn't seem to be any one model that was superior to all the rest," Callaghan said. However, the task force is promoting these recommendations to ease the crisis: - Adequate funding of public programs -- Bring Medicaid payment rates up to current Medicare rates, and bring Medicare rates up to the rates of commercial plans. - Paperwork reduction -- Streamline administrative requirements of health insurance companies. - Tax relief -- Exempt medical practices from business and occupation taxes for the low revenues received from Medicaid, Medicare and the Basic Health Plan. - Redefining health insurance -- Promote affordable insurance choices such as bare-bones plans and catastrophic plans, and reconsider whether services such as massage should be included in insurance coverage. - Medicare reform -- Equalize Washington's Medicare reimbursements, which are among the 10 lowest in the United States. - Public education -- Help
people better understand the cost of health care, technology, training and
more. An entitlement feeling among the public, that patients should have
access to whatever treatments or technology is available, is not supported
by the current financing system. Lorrine Thompson covers Thurston County and health for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-5431. |
