Health Care Scare: Doctors Refusing to Treat Patients
The fiery debate over reforming Health Care is not a new one. Back in the 1960’s hundreds of doctors and the AMA fought hard against the bill that led to Medicare.
The start to Medicare can be traced back to early in the Kennedy Administration as something called the King-Anderson bill (sponsored by Representative Cecil King of California & Senator Clinton P. Anderson of New Mexico). This bill, introduced in 1962 during a time of a mild recession, was to help pay for hospital and nursing care for people 65 years old and over and was the precursor to Medicare.
The bill was widely debated. In fact, groups of doctors in several parts of the country signed petitions saying they “refused to participate in the care of patients under the provision” of the bill or under similar legislation.
Why would doctors go to such an extreme as to threaten to withhold medical care? Here’s a quote from Dr. J. Bruce Henriksen, the New Jersey doctor who began the first petition:
“We felt it was the beginning of socialized medicine. It is a compulsory tax. There is no alternative to it. Uncle Sam assumes that the people in this country don’t have the brains or the ambition to plan for their old age…”
Interesting to note, Dr Henriksen commented on the reasonable affordability of medical care at that time, which really shows how prices have changed over the decades:
“The vast majority of illnesses in the old people are not too bad. They go into the hospital and have their hernias fixed or their gall bladders out and it costs…$150 for a hernia and $225 for a gall bladder. A 7- or 8-day hospital stay will run maybe $400 or $500 and most can afford that. Also, most of them have insurance of some kind….”
(Actually, only 1 in 8 elderly persons had health insurance in the mid-twentieth century. Most insurance companies refused them service, as old people had long been considered “bad risks”)
In the current debate over President Obama’s efforts to reform Health Care, we’re seeing angry protestors and heated town hall meetings. Whether you believe this is a “grass-roots” effort or an “astro-turf” effort, the opposition is hoping everyday citizens can help stop congress from passing a bill. It seems Dr. Henriksen had the same opinion, as here he offers his suggestion on how to stop socialized medicine:
“The only way to do it would be to get enough people excited enough to write a couple of million letters to the congressmen to say they don’t want it. Not form letters, but the kind scribbled on an old piece of tablet with a pencil.”
Dr. Henriksen was so passionate in his opposition to this bill, he stated he would NOT treat any patient receiving Medicare, even if it meant losing his license. At that time, this was a likely scenario. Because in the same year this “socialized medicine” controversy was heating up, New Jersey passed legislation making it illegal for doctors to refuse care simply because of the method of payment a patient was using.
“As far as I’m concerned as an individual, of course, I won’t practice under socialized medicine. I’ll quit. I’ll refuse to see all patients. Maybe they’ll put me in jail.”
The American Medical Association was also strongly opposed to Medicare. The AMA led the strike against what they called “the most deadly challenge ever faced by the medical profession.” The AMA handed out pamphlets, aired radio and TV commercials, and launched a massive speaking tour labeled “Operation Coffee Cup”. The speeches were designed to get constituents to write letters to their Congressmen. The AMA was accused of using “scare tactics” and having “irrational tirades”. Meanwhile, the AMA accused the Kennedy Administration of “looting” the Treasury to pay for a bill that had the sole purpose of “partisan political gain”.
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