Freedom Line Blog

In an interview with CFIF, Sally Pipes, President, CEO, and Taube Fellow in Health Care Studies at the Pacific Research Institute, discusses why the American Medical Association’s support of ObamaCare undermines its mission to “help doctors help patients” and what it may mean to the 2012 presidential race if the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of ObamaCare prior to the election.

Listen to the interview here.

As the Senate continues to debate the future of health care in America, the California Medical Association handed the White House a blow today when it announced that it would oppose the current health care bill.

The California Medical Association has more than 35,000 physicians, the second largest state-based group in the nation.   Though the American Medical Association (AMA) is still supportive of the House version of “reform,” state medical associations in Texas, Florida and Georgia have all joined to oppose a government takeover of health care.

Their main objection is reimbursement rates under Medicare.  The Senate bill is set to slash physician reimbursement under Medicare by 40%, and as a result, most doctors would simply refuse to take Medicare patients.

As Dr. Dev GnanaDev noted, “If doctors can’t see you, the only choice you have is the emergency room, which is a very bad way to get healthcare.”

Let’s hope the AMA joins with California doctors to oppose the Senate bill.