Patient Letter to Doctor

Dear Doctor__________:

You are my doctor and I need your help.

Up to now, the majority of “practicing” doctors have been silent and disengaged on the issue of the federal government health care expansion known as “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (Public Law 111-148).  

There are many problems with the financing of health care in America.  Insurance can be a headache for me and is an administrative nightmare for you.  Passage of this law has now put you on the road to becoming a Government employee and will likely result in my family and I losing our personal healthcare freedom.

The AMA deceived the public into believing that America's physicians prefer socialized medicine. I understand only 15-20% of physicians are AMA members and according to the Wall Street Journal, the AMA is maintaining a lucrative contract from the government as an acknowledgement of their support for this legislation.  

As my personal physician, I know you uphold your sacred Hippocratic Oath. Doctors tend to be politically neutral and believe airing political views can threaten the trust and sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship. The problem however, is the political class has now crossed that line leaving you and your patients in jeopardy.

The new law gives broad powers to politicians, lawyers and bureaucrats (not practicing doctors) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to:

• Dictate standardized treatments, thereby removing your education and experience from the treatment process.

Furthermore:

• You will no longer have the primary authority to prescribe drugs, authorize diagnostic/treatment options and/or make swift referrals for specialist care.
• Previously independent and private healthcare decisions will be disrupted via government intervention, regulation and penalty enforcement.
• New cures and treatments will fail to emerge as government bureaucracy stifles American innovation by meddling in every stage of research and development and ultimately, dictating price when products go to market. No entrepreneurial technology firm will invest years of R&D and billions of dollars to endure this government intrusion.

In spite of protests by Congress and denials by the President, their version of government run health care is deliberately setting the course to socialized medicine. This is not suspicion and now we have the proof.

Any pretense that this law was not a "political" power grab toward socialism was destroyed when the Obama administration nominated Dr. Donald Berwick to be administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  The Department of Health and Human Services describes him as – a man fighting to ration care and socialize medicine.  

Dr. Berwick on his dream health care system – “any health care funding plan that is just, equitable, civilized, and humane must– must– redistribute wealth from the richer among us to the poorer and less fortunate.”

Dr. Berwick is a proponent of socialism in healthcare and the President nominated him to manage an agency intimately involved with one sixth of our economy.   If approved by the US Senate, Dr. Berwick will wield immense power and will control a system that will design the standardization of medical institutions and determine how all major health insurance companies conduct their business and administer care.  Very few, if any, physicians will be able to avoid this scenario.

I recently became aware of a grassroots organization of concerned “practicing” doctors who are informing patients and elected officials of the unintended consequences of the government takeover of the American healthcare system. This organization, “Docs 4 Patient Care”, has devised its own “Prescription for Responsible Health Insurance Reform” which I believe are reasonable and common sense alternatives to what is being proposed in Washington, DC.

As your patient, I urge you to advocate for my family and me. Please voice our concerns to Congress and let them know that we are displeased with their takeover of our health care.  I am asking you to become a member of D4PC and help them in their campaign to “Defund, Repeal, and Replace” government health care. The time for being a-political is long over.

Elected officials need to hear from “practicing” physicians in their home districts regarding the potential harmful impact on patient care. You can make a difference by joining and supporting Docs 4 Patient Care (www.docs4patientcare.org) and take a stand on behalf of your patients.  

The physicians of D4PC will only be influential and effective if they have involvement of large numbers of similarly concerned doctors.  Your patients are counting on you and will support your effort.

Thank you,