Is A Doctor Strike on the Horizon?
Medicare rates are already set below cost. If the planned 41% cut in Medicare rates takes place, the possibility of a “doctor strike” – where physicians opt out of Medicare – becomes very real. In an effort to help both physicians and patients, one pioneering company has addressed the issues that drive up costs head on. MediBid. com empowers doctors to set prices based on free market forces and patients to purchase healthcare across state lines and international boundaries. Now patients can take control by making choices based on quality, privacy and value.
PASO ROBLES, CA (Vocus) April 1, 2010
MediBid. com (http://www. medibid. com) – The Marketplace for Medicine® – reported today that the number of physician users on the site increased exponentially since the beginning of the year, largely due to the turmoil of the healthcare reform bill. The MediBid. com portal allows physicians to connect directly to patients without limitations and empowers doctors to say “no” to government run healthcare and opt out of Medicare. With the signing of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act by President Obama on March 30th, MediBid expects continued growth because MediBid has what the politicians missed when they wrote the bill – a real solution.
“The bill is a labyrinthinan document,” says Ralph Weber, founder and CEO of MediBid. “Despite its verbosity, the bill completely fails to address the three largest issues driving healthcare costs: the costs of treatment, the costs of frivolous lawsuits and the costs of increased utilization.”
The number of Medicare eligibles will grow by 36% to 54 million over the next 10 years. Simultaneously, this bill will reduce funding for Medicare by $500 billion by cutting doctor reimbursements 21%. The cuts to Medicare start today, then reduce rates another 20% over the next decade. The Congressional Budget Office states that this bill, when combined with the government takeover of the student loan program, will reduce the deficit by $138 billion during that time. “But at what cost?” said Weber. “More people in need, with less money to divide among them cannot result in better care. The cost of treatment should be set by the physician, not the government.”
Doctors are standing up for themselves and their patients one by one, on websites like aapsonline. org (http://www. aapsonline. org), urging others to follow suit and opt out of Medicare and other third party payer systems. Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet’s quote “I’ll Quit if the Healthcare Bill Stands” has been posted all over the Internet. This movement by doctors has prompted some to question if there will be a doctor strike and what would happen to the healthcare bill if there were no physicians to support it, evoking images of the exodus to Galt’s Gulch by the educated people of the nation in Ayn Rand’s, Atlas Shrugged. Their Galt’s Gulch is MediBid. com, making Ralph Weber John Galt.
“MediBid is the solution to the healthcare crisis that doctors and patients seek,” said Weber. “Patients (http://www. medibid. com/consumers) are unhappy with long waiting room times for five-minute doctor visits. They don’t want to see the PPO’s doctor, they want to see their doctor. Overworked doctors are frustrated that they are unable to provide quality care, which is why they got into medicine in the first place. Cuts to Medicare reimbursement at a time of increased need is only going to compound the problem further. By offering a solution to the healthcare crisis, a doctor strike can be prevented.”
MediBid builds a direct contract between patients and physicians (http://www. medibid. com/physicians), in a private environment where both parties agree to costs up front. “A bill that requires paid participation and levies a fine for non-compliance is going to increase utilization”, says Weber, “If I am required to buy health coverage, I’m certainly going to use it as much as possible. So will everyone else. A system that you pay for when you need it will naturally regulate use.”
MediBid tackles the issues that drive up costs head on. Using this revolutionary portal (http://www. medibid. com/aboutus), medical practitioners can set prices based on competitive market forces, contrary to the rates which are currently fixed by Medicare and insurance companies. Patients have the ability to purchase healthcare across state lines, and international boundaries. MediBid increases communication between patients and physicians, restoring the patient/physician relationship. In addition, MediBid allows patients to take control by making their own choices based on quality, privacy and value; issues not addressed by the health bill.
About MediBid
MediBid. com is an interactive, online marketplace that places healthcare back into the hands of patients and physicians. Medical Specialists name their own prices by giving custom tailored price bids to patients on a case by case basis. Patients who use MediBid's uncompromisingly unique, highly secure, needs-matching technology can acquire the best cost-to-value services anywhere.
For more information, contact: Lacey Morgan 805-434-6085.
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