Poll of physicians reveals doctors views on Congressional and White House proposals for health-care reform
The American Society of Medical Doctors (ASMD) has released a nationwide, nonpartisan poll of physicians, which was conducted by WRS Opinion Research on August 7th, 2009, on behalf of the ASMD.
The poll results showed that 70% of specialty doctors oppose current Congressional and White House proposals for health-care reform. Over 66% believe that a government-run health insurance plan would restrict doctors’ ability to give the best advice and offer the best care possible to their patients. More than 60% would not accept new patients with government insurance.
Alfred Bonati, chairman of ASMD, said: As a physician, the results of this poll are not surprising to me. Any doctor who has ever dealt with Medicare knows that government coverage severely limits our abilities to deliver care that best fits the needs of the patient and the patient’s family. We know that government coverage does not allow for flexibility, creativity, or, sometimes, even compassion.
I hope this research will serve as a wake-up call to policy makers. Doctors are against the creation of government-run health insurance and many of us will not accept new patients with that type of coverage, he added.