Re: the USA health care system is heading towards shambes

[Guest guest]

Lots of doctors are losing money & cannot sustain their practice. Obama's healthcare reform cuddles up to the insurance lobby and does not adequately address the problems. We are headed for a disaster. HIV patients are increasingly facing enormous monthly copays and going off HAART.On Mar 8, 2010, at 5:32:57 PM, "L3m0n aka. Jeff Herwatt" <l3m0n@...> wrote:From:"L3m0n aka. Jeff Herwatt" <l3m0n@...>Subject: WOW Dr. Loftus is closing his practice and filing Bankruptcy!Date:March 8, 2010 5:32:57 PM EST< >I went to my clinical trials study visit today and was told by the Study Nurse that my doctor, Loftus, a well known and well respected HIV specialist here in San Francisco would be closing his practice on the 26th of the month, and filing for Bankruptcy.I am still shocked to learn this.  Dr. Loftus's practice seemed to be thriving, waiting times for appointments were usually 3 to 4 weeks   Dr. Loftus was well known and well respected within the San Francisco HIV community, having worked his way up from a grassroot activist.  It raises serious questions in my mind about what is happening in the Healthcare world.  Insurance  companies are posting record earnings and profits, raising rates, and Doctors are filing Bankruptcy. If this is not a glowing example of why we need Health Care reform, I don't know what is!  Dr. Loftus was on everyone's short list of the best HIV Doctors in S an Francisco!  Of course th9is means I have to scramble in the next couple of weeks to find a new Doctor.  BTW: this is the second Premier AIDS Doctor that I have lost, Dr. Lawerence Boly was my first doctor and he also closed his practice due to fiscal realities!For all the Details, check out his Practices website @ http://hmii.org/ 

[Guest guest]

To be quite honest I have spent the day holed up making calls trying to find a new practice. The truth is that very few of the A-List or even B-List doctors are talking patients, and MANY candidly told me that the reason was they are too seriously leaving private practice, insurance companies are cutting what they are paid, and they have already cut staff to try and make ends meet! For the first time since 1985 I am SERIOUSLY considering having a non-HIV doctor be my PCP. One of the AIDS doctors told me that as a "Specialist" they get paid twice what they do per visit as a PCP.My Grandma has diabetes, and her is willing to take me on, and refer me to HIV specialist as needed. He thinks he will can manage the day to day issues just fine, and is only iffy on the new Meds and HAARTs.This is really looking like my best option, use my "family doctor" as a Gate keeper, and get referred every place else ...l3m0n@...; From: JuLev@...Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2010 14:11:21 -0500Subject: Re: the USA health care system is heading towards shambes

Lots of doctors are losing money & cannot sustain their practice. Obama's healthcare reform cuddles up to the insurance lobby and does not adequately address the problems. We are headed for a disaster. HIV patients are increasingly facing enormous monthly copays and going off HAART.On Mar 8, 2010, at 5:32:57 PM, "L3m0n aka. Jeff Herwatt" <l3m0n@...> wrote:From:"L3m0n aka. Jeff Herwatt" <l3m0n@...>Subject: WOW Dr. Loftus is closing his practice and filing Bankruptcy!Date:March 8, 2010 5:32:57 PM EST< >I went to my clinical trials study visit today and was told by the Study Nurse that my doctor, Loftus, a well known and well respected HIV specialist here in San Francisco would be closing his practice on the 26th of the month, and filing for Bankruptcy.I am still shocked to learn this. Dr. Loftus's practice seemed to be thriving, waiting times for appointments were usually 3 to 4 weeks Dr. Loftus was well known and well respected within the San Francisco HIV community, having worked his way up from a grassroot activist. It raises serious questions in my mind about what is happening in the Healthcare world. Insurance companies are posting record earnings and profits, raising rates, and Doctors are filing Bankruptcy. If this is not a glowing example of why we need Health Care reform, I don't know what is! Dr. Loftus was on everyone's short list of the best HIV Doctors in S an Francisco! Of course th9is means I have to scramble in the next couple of weeks to find a new Doctor. BTW: this is the second Premier AIDS Doctor that I have lost, Dr. Lawerence Boly was my first doctor and he also closed his practice due to fiscal realities!For all the Details, check out his Practices website @ http://hmii.org/

[Guest guest]

"Lots of doctors are losing money & cannot sustain their practice. Obama's healthcare reform cuddles up to the insurance lobby and does not adequately address the problems. We are headed for a disaster. HIV patients are increasingly facing enormous monthly copays and going off HAART."I do not love the current health plan, but it offers many things to people with HIV, especially the end of pre-existing condition exclusions.While it is not what we all might have wanted, given the obstacles that this rather minor insurance reform bill has encountered, I can't even imagine the civil war that a true "single payer" system would have engendered.I support the bill, hoping for improvements, in the future, if it fails, it will be another 20 years before anyone tackles this issue, and we'll have Palin for president in 2012.JB

[Guest guest]

"Lots of doctors are losing money & cannot sustain their practice. Obama's healthcare reform cuddles up to the insurance lobby and does not adequately address the problems. We are headed for a disaster. HIV patients are increasingly facing enormous monthly copays and going off HAART."I do not love the current health plan, but it offers many things to people with HIV, especially the end of pre-existing condition exclusions.While it is not what we all might have wanted, given the obstacles that this rather minor insurance reform bill has encountered, I can't even imagine the civil war that a true "single payer" system would have engendered.I support the bill, hoping for improvements, in the future, if it fails, it will be another 20 years before anyone tackles this issue, and we'll have Palin for president in 2012.JB