Dr. Eck, has the solutions to put American health care back in the hands of doctors and patients.

She has, for over 10 years, run a volunteer health care center serving the uninsured and poor in New Jersey without a dime of tax payer funding.

Dr. Eck - the immediate past president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons is a leader in the physician community and has advocated for patient-centered solutions for over 20 years.

Through her volunteer health center she understands what will really help get those in need back on their feet so they are no longer dependent on government assistance.  

Dr. Eck regularly testifies before Congress to present the ideas that will lower costs, and increase access to care for all Americans without a big government take over.

2013 National Student Leadership Conference

April 19-21 Philadelphia, PA

This past weekend, thirty-two medical students from twenty schools across the country gathered in Philadelphia to meet each other, exchange ideas, learn about effective leadership and gain a better understanding of the challenges we face in protecting the health care freedom of doctors and patients.

The festivities began Friday evening with hors d’oeurves, drinks and socializing. We were joined by a number of supporting local physicians, including Drs. Arvind Cavale and Herb Kunkle of Docs 4 Patient Care, Dr. Aleita Eck, past president of the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons, and her husband Dr. John Eck.  Each of the chapters gave a brief report on this past year’s events, and then resumed getting to know one another in the hotel lounge.

Designed to address the challenges of chapter continuity and to strengthen chapter performance through leadership training, Saturday’s program consisted primarily of workshops on how to organize, run and build an effective BRS chapter. For several sessions, we partnered with the nationally recognized Leadership Institute, which exists to help train future leaders and activists about how to build and sustain on-campus activities like BRS Chapters. Throughout the day, students constantly exchanged experiences and ideas on how to reach more students, types of programs and topics, and new ways to interact among themselves. By timing the annual meeting in late April, were able to involve the currently active second-year and upper-class medical student leaders as well as begin to work with their identified first-year student successors.

The conference highlighted the efforts of student leaders who have proven entrepreneurial in spreading the BRS message. For example, Alex Chamessian, a student from our Duke BRS chapter, set up a live webcast interview with Dr. Keith Smith, co-founder and managing partner of the physician-owned Surgery Center of Oklahoma. All BRS members were invited to watch and participate in an online Q&A. At the National Conference, Alex instructed fellow students on how to create similar online events. In addition, Dr. Raymond Raad, a former BRS chapter president and now a resident at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, spoke about conducting and publishing health policy research while in medical school and residency. Dr. Raad also presented his 2009 paper published by the Cato Institute, “Bending the Productivity Curve: Why America Leads the World in Medical Innovation.”

In the afternoon, BRS board members provided number of policy-oriented lectures. Sally Pipes, BRS founder and Chair, spoke on why our country needs the Benjamin Rush Society. BRS Executive Board member, Dick Armstrong, MD, recounted the history of government’s involvement in medicine, providing an important perspective on how we got to where we are today.  Jan Breslow, MD, also a BRS Executive Board member, talked about the future of research and innovation under the new health care law. Beth Haynes, MD, Executive Director of BRS, led a discussion on how to think about and explain free market medicine so that those initially hostile to these ideas will be more likely to give them genuine consideration. The last session of the afternoon was a panel discussion between the Executive Board and the students, addressing matters of both policy and messaging.

With barely time to freshen up, the entire group boarded a bus to head off to the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania for an Oxford-style debate: “Be It Resolved: “Maintenance of Certification requirements fail to improve the quality of medical care while placing unnecessary burdens on physicians.” The debate was attended by over 100 students, residents, faculty and practicing physicians. The format was unusual in that we ended up with three debaters for the opposition, each taking a unique and challenging point of view.  Thanks to the graceful moderating by Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Curriculum at Perelman, the debate on this controversial topic remained civil – though lively and sparked by passion on both sides. Although live-streaming allowed physicians across the country to view the debate while in action, the quality of the UStream archive is less than ideal. A high-quality recording of the debate will be posted on BenjaminRushSociety.org sometime in the next week or two.

After the debate, dinner at a local restaurant capped of the formal part of the conference with the opportunity for students to continue to get to know each other and the BRS Board, and to continue discussing MOC and healthcare with the debate participants. In the spirit of supporting meaningful communication, BRS debates are always followed by a social event, giving people on opposite sides of an issue the opportunity to see one another as human beings. These gatherings are often the highlight of the event for student organizers and the debate participants.

We believe such a national meeting, held annually, will significantly boost the effectiveness of BRS chapters and help provide the sustainability we require. Reactions to the conference are typified by the comments below from two student attendees:

"The BRS leadership conference was a huge success. It re-energized our Duke chapter. We got a lot of ideas to take back home with us. It was great to meet other students doing amazing things at other schools. BRS is definitely going to prosper here at Duke because of what we learned and the ideas we gained."

“This was such an important meeting to refresh us in the fight for our patients and the free market in healthcare. It is so invigorating to see we are not alone in the struggle and that we can help each other out.”

The only complaint we received: not enough time! 

Dr Adam Dorin and Dr Wayne Iverson    http://www.DoctorsTeaParty.com

Event of Interest from the

National Doctors Tea Party

Find us on Facebook at “ http://www.facebook.com/doctorsteaparty ” Ask your members to visit us regularly, LIKE and SHARE 

The Association of American Physicians & Surgeons (AAPS) Files Lawsuit Against ABMS Regarding Recertification

Dr Adam Dorin and Dr Wayne Iverson    http://www.DoctorsTeaParty.com

Event of Interest from the

National Doctors Tea Party

Find us on Facebook at “ http://www.facebook.com/doctorsteaparty ” Ask your members to visit us regularly, LIKE and SHARE 

Tax Day Tea Party San Diego 2013

Help Protest Government

Tax and Spending

Monday April 15, 2013

4:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Carmel Mountain Ranch Post Office,

across the street

Message from Maggie Cooper, Liberty Tree Patriots, Poway California:

Taxed Enough Already !

On April 15th join your fellow concerned citizens exercise their 1st Amendment Rights to peacefully assemble and petition the Government about the current high level of taxation and the twenty (20) new taxes forced onto the American Tax Payer under the Affordable Care Act aka ObamaCare. From 4:00 pm-7:00 pm we will be gathering across the street from the Carmel Mountain Ranch Post Office 1151 Rancho Carmel Drive, San Diego. CA. Bring your tea party signs, American flags, banners and flyers. We are forecasting another large turn out of people this year. I hope to see you there ! For more information visit the Website at: http://www.taxdayteapartysandiego.org/ and Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/TaxDayTeaPartySanDiego

Just exactly what does the "Medicaid expansion" mean for the average person? Will you really have better or lower cost medical services? Or, will you be left out in the cold when you need to see a doctor because doctors have stopped taking Medicaid? Will your taxes go up even more to pay for medical care for other people when Medicaid is expanded to cover 133% of the federal poverty level?

The Medicaid expansion also means that older people on Medicare will have to be DENIED medical care to save money so that YOUNGER people can have medical care paid for with the expansion of taxpayer funded Medicaid.

Dr. Vliet and guest, Carolyn Cox, President of Tucson Conservative Forum, discuss how the expansion of government controlled Medicaid actually undermines our American traditions of self-reliance, autonomy, and liberty for self-determination as the cornerstones of our lives.

Article by Jane M. Orient, M.D.

The Green family, owners of the craft goods store Hobby Lobby, has taken a courageous stand for religious freedom and for life by defying the Obamacare mandate requiring employers to provide coverage for their employees’ emergency contraceptives, which violate their religious views on abortion. Why is our entire nation not reeling from shock over this administration’s tyrannical action? How shall we characterize a government that would severely punish people for living by their conscience and refusing to participate in an act they — along with millions, perhaps even a majority, of Americans — regard as evil?

It is interesting that most businesses favor government work because it usually pays well and once you have friendly legislators (usually through lobbying efforts/political contributions) who support you, the contracts keep coming your way. Unlike for hospitals, in our medical practice, the payment for healthcare services rendered to people on our government healthcare plans is the complete opposite. Medicaid patients are usually the most demanding, least compliant, the most litigious, the most labor intensive in workforce costs, heck the regulatory red tape is exhausting, and yet the lowest reimbursed. Medicare & TriCare have been heading down this path as well. Now the private health insurance plans are beginning with PPACA. I am sure Halliburton would not work under these conditions but doctors and nurses do.

By the way, all of this is happening along with increasing requirements for recertification by hospitals, health insurance networks, and state licensing boards in all practice areas since the late 1990's which costs patients healthcare workforce time (less face to face hands-on time), directly thousands of dollars in new taxes, and indirectly thousands of dollars in wasteful unnecessary mediocre care. The worse part is it takes away time we could spend on patient care because of the weeks of preparation courses, time spent logging your patient procedure/treatment logs, and taking the actual exam. And, since we all have this incredible amount of free time on our hands (sarcasm noted), we also will spend our vacation and family time jumping through this unending mass of regulatory hoops. None of this has been proven to improve patient care but most of this will certainly take away from patient care.

Interestingly, the lawyers do not have to do this, once they pass their state bar exam they are free to practice in almost any type of area of the law they choose and this can change whenever they freely decide to do so. They are only required to take Continuing Legal Education to maintain their license. This would be the equivalent of receiving your Medical Degree and then taking Continuing Medical Education to maintain your license but being able to practice any area of medicine you felt comfortable in. Unfortunately for doctors, the legislatures are composed of many lawyers, very few doctors, and our academicians lobby in favor of increasing their power over and collecting money from the private practice doctor at every turn. Please understand that this is a massively profitable business for the certification boards, academic institutions, and all at the expense of patients' access to affordable care.

We need to stop this insanity before patients die! American trained quality experienced doctors are dwindling in numbers. About 25% of doctors are over the age of 55, many are turning to VIP/concierge practices, and some will retire early once the new healthcare law is fully implemented. There has been a noticeable change in the new doctors coming out of training in the last decade with less altruistic dedication, more expectation of a salaried predictable hours type positions & benefit packages, and less overall hands-on experience. Those trained prior to the 21st century were the best and the brightest of their time so they will do well in many other areas once they leave healthcare. Once they leave medical practice these very regulations will make it impossible to get them back. We must act now, time is short, 2014 is around the corner!

Our federal and state governments are both accelerating this healthcare disaster at logarithmic rates. The government is making promises that it cannot keep by their own massive regulatory fiat. This is why making acceptance of Medicaid and Medicare mandatory along with the aforementioned requirements for state medical licensing will further escalate the disintegration of quality healthcare access. The Nevada State Legislature starts February 4, 2013 and the legislators begin orientation just before that in Carson City.

We the People can stop this insanity by educating the silent majority and organizing massive demonstrations of a diverse group of people. We need to speak now or forever hold our peace as we watch America disintegrate into a 2nd world and then a 3rd world country within our lifetime! Please join us now, we need everyone, the young, old, blue-collar & white-collar workers, retired, military personnel & veterans, rich, middle class & poor, every race or religion, etc... We are fighting for our LIVES now!

America has some of the finest hospitals, physicians and nurses the world has ever known. We also have a health care system that is struggling with issues of affordability and access.  We need a transformational realignment that moves us back toward a system that is affordable and once again, at its core, consists of a medical provider, and a patient, in an exam room.

Obamacare has undermined positive health care reforms that have been underway since the late 1990s and its skyrocketing costs have become a major deterrent to America`s corporate stability.  Even more alarming for individual taxpayers and families, congressional budget analysts are now estimating that nearly 6 million Americans - most of them middle class - will have to pay a penalty for not getting health insurance once Obamacare is fully in place.

That`s 2 million more than previously estimated, or a 50 percent increase, with an average penalty of nearly $1,200.

The recent Supreme Court ruling has brought Obamacare`s hidden taxes to the light of day and Dianne Feinstein proudly doubled down on her support of them. With a price tag double what the Democrats promised and growing exponentially every day, the "Affordable Care Act" may be the most ironic title for a major bill in the history of Congress.

This dishonest attempt at health care reform should be repealed before its regulations and price controls further damage availability and quality of care.  It should bereplaced with policies that target specific health market concerns: quality, affordability and access.

The Problem:

• Our system of healthcare in which third-party payers pay for care has worked to separate the consumer of health care from the provider, weakening the doctor-patient relationship.  Disconnected from the cost of care, some consumers have over-used the system. 
• Employers are encouraged by our tax system to be the purchasers of health insurance.  Attempting to contain costs, employers have opted for the various forms of managed care.  Health plan administrators have denied care, questioned doctors` judgments, and created a blizzard of paperwork in an attempt to limit their expenditures.     
• With rising costs, the number of uninsured patients has risen (including many working uninsured).  The rise in the uninsured led to a greater number of people with no preventive care, which in turn has led to people seeking care at trauma centers and emergency rooms.  
• With private health plans and government programs providing inadequate reimbursement, trauma centers and emergency departments are incurring huge losses.
• The fundamental problem is that the federal government has opted to use price controls and "command and control" style regulations instead of power of the marketplace.  The marketplace, with appropriate supervision and safe-guards, will always be the most efficient way to allocate health care resources.
• In addition to this basic problem, uncertainty over future regulations and costs of Obama-care is a major impediment that is making employers reluctant to hire new employees and expand their businesses.  This massive new federal law is exacerbating the budget crisis for states.  States have received little or uncertain guidance from the Administration on future costs and restrictions under the law.  This creates an unfavorable environment for state budgets and the economy as a whole. 

The Solution:

• Create a system that reconnects doctors and patients, both in the quality and cost of care, rather than a massive government health care bureaucracy.  Health insurance should be portable and insurers should not be allowed to discriminate based on pre-existing conditions.  Allowing consumers to buy insurance across state lines will lower the cost of insurance. 
• Remove Obamacare`s barriers to market-oriented solutions and force health care providers to compete for patients` business based on both quality and cost.  We must make it easier for individuals and small businesses to purchase coverage instead of tilting the scales for employer-provided insurance. 
• The key to making Medicare affordable while maintaining the quality of health care is more patient involvement, more choices among Medicare health plans, and more competition.  Market mechanisms should be utilized to drive down costs that are presently skewed by the government footprint in the healthcare system.  A menu of additional Medicare plans, some with lower premiums, higher co-payments and improved catastrophic coverage, should be added to the current program to encourage competition.  Only by empowering Medicare beneficiaries to exercise their purchasing power - instead of setting reimbursement rates in Washington - can we begin to have competition that will control costs and improve quality of care. 
• For Medicaid, modest co-payments should be introduced except for preventive services.  The program should be turned over entirely to the states with federal financing supplied by a "no strings attached" block grant.  States should then allow Medicaid recipients to purchase a health plan of their choosing with a risk-adjusted Medicaid grant that phases out as income similarly rises.
• Seniors and disabled individuals should have the right to opt out of Medicare or Medicaid if they so choose.  Seniors have no choice but to accept Medicare if they want to receive the Social Security benefits that they paid into the system.  Free citizens deserve better treatment under the law.  Similarly, some states require that all disability benefits be tied to Medicaid.  This means that families who seek help for one disability need are sent checks that they didn`t ask for and don`t need.  Our safety net system should be more flexible and provide more choices if it is to survive.  

Obamacare may be one of the most important reasons why retiring Dianne Feinstein is crucial to our national cause - she is painfully out-of-touch with the American people, and her insistence on cheerleading this law is the most profound demonstration yet why California needs new energy and a fresh start in the U.S. Senate.

The simple truth is that Obamacare will continue to have a negative impact on job creation and hiring, and businesses as well as families will be forced to continue to grapple with all of the uncertainty and costs the law creates.

Only with new leadership in Washington can we expand access and lower costs through competition and choice while keeping in mind our responsibility to care for the truly vulnerable without raising taxes or increasing debt. 

I will vote to repeal the Obamacare tax dragging down our economy and hurting families. Dianne Feinstein won`t. It`s a simple choice.