• President Obama's Address About Healthcare Reform
• Featured Legislator: Chet Edwards (17th District)
• This Week In Texas: Mignon McGarry Memos
• Thank You To Our Sponsor: Angiotech
• Walter R. Lowe, M.D. Named The New Chairman Of The Department Of Orthopaedic Surgery

• TDI/TWC Accepting Comments On Informal Working Draft Of eBill Rules

 
President Obama's Address About Healthcare Reform
  

By John Early, MD President, Texas Orthopaedic Association Many of you may have seen President Obama's Address to Congress regarding healthcare reform.  We have posted AAOS's comments regarding the Presidential Address to Congress.  If you were not able to see view President Obama's message, you may find it here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MVtE7C-YVc)

Message from Joseph D. Zuckerman, MD, AAOS President

Last night, President Barack Obama spoke to a joint session of Congress on the issue of health care reform one day after they returned from August recess. The President addressed many concerns that have been expressed by the American public and by health care professionals. Throughout his speech, the President expressed a desire to gain bipartisan support from the Democratically-controlled House and Senate.

In his speech, the President focused on three major points: 1) preserving existing coverage for those already insured; 2) limiting funding to savings within the existing health care system; and 3) identifying and eliminating waste in the system which could include implementing some version of medical liability reform. A significant portion of the President's speech focused on changes to the insurance industry including non-denial for pre-existing conditions, ending caps on annual and lifetime benefits and an end to cancellation of coverage. The President also explained that his plan would require individuals to carry health insurance and businesses to provide it. Businesses and individuals that cannot afford insurance will receive tax credits. The plan also includes health insurance exchanges and restrictions of caps on private coverage. The AAOS clearly agrees with the need for reform in the health care delivery system, and we look forward to examining new specific proposals for health care reform.

Regarding medical liability reform, the President directed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to create demonstration projects that would test alternative models of medical liability reform. The AAOS applauds the President's recognition that there is a problem with the current legal system and initiative to improve the current model. However, there are models that we already know work. We are going to actively pursue Congress on several levels to urge swift action on these measures to ensure that we remove the waste in the health care system related to a broken tort system and defensive medicine, paving the way to implement the other health care reform proposals being debated.

President Obama noted, "Our overall efforts have been supported by an unprecedented coalition of doctors and nurses; hospitals, seniors' groups and even drug companies – many of whom opposed reform in the past." While several other physician organizations have endorsed the House bill, the AAOS has not endorsed any plan currently on the table. The AAOS believes there is a serious need for health care reform, but reform must be done responsibly and with patients at the forefront. To this end, the AAOS Office of Government Relations, the physician leadership, and many fellows across the country are actively engaging Congress to press for patient-focused health care reform that ensures affordable, quality specialty care. Now that the substance of health care reform legislation is becoming clearer we will continue our efforts, along with the surgical community and the Alliance of Specialty Medicine, to carefully analyze the proposals and publicly support those positions consistent with our well-documented position on health care reform.

We welcome the attitude of openness from the President and look forward to continuing to work with the White House and Congress on this important issue.

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Featured Legislator: Chet Edwards (17th District)
    

By David Teuscher TOA Legislative Committee Chair Your Texas Orthopaedic leadership delegation participated in Capitol Hill visits during the NOLC 2009 (National Orthopaedic Leadership Conference) hosted by the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons on April 30, 2009. During this historic year when healthcare reform is being debated, it was critical for your TOA leaders to carry

your message to Congress. Most of the Texas Congressmen met with our orthopaedic delegation in person, sometimes for extended periods of time. We want to thank each legislator and their staff for spending time with us in an effort to make sure we get reforms right for our patients and our practices.   Doctors need to go to Washington and call their Representative and Senators and make their presence felt and their concerns known. Representative Edwards, a Democrat representing the 17th District sits on the powerful Appropriations committee. He also sits on the Budget Committee. Both committees will be very important in any funding considerations for healthcare reform. Representative Edward's district includes Waco, College Station and Cleburne. He is a tenth-term democrat and has physician-owned facilities in his district.   Click here to obtain his contact information. [top] [back to e-card archive page]

This Week In Texas: Mignon McGarry Memos

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