Statement attributable to
Michael Fleming, M.D., FAAFP
President, AAFP
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AAFP Statement: Bush Healthcare Proposals in his State of the Union Address
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
WASHINGTON - "Family physicians applaud many of the proposals President Bush outlined in his State of the Union address to increase access to health care for Americans. These proposals will help many people who do not currently have health care insurance. However, the AAFP continues to call for an overhaul of our country's broken health care system.
"The tax credits proposed by the president to assist low-income wage earners buy health insurance are a step in the right direction. Allowing small businesses to band together to negotiate with insurance companies for health care coverage for their employees is another such step. More needs to be done. Reducing the ranks of the uninsured by a few million is a short-term victory in human terms. Unfortunately, adding them to a broken health care system is a long-term strategy doomed to fail.
"As the president pointed out, there have been amazing developments in medical technology that are saving and improving lives. Yet none of these lifesaving techniques or procedures is proven to improve patient safety or quality of care.
"Computerizing health records, as the president suggests, will improve patient safety. Research shows how important administrative systems in primary care, particularly medical record systems, are as a place to eliminate errors. That's why the AAFP has been a leader among medical associations, working with technology companies to provide all 93,700 AAFP members with access to affordable hardware components and software programs to implement electronic health record systems in their offices.
"President Bush also called for an end to wasteful and frivolous medical lawsuits. He has supported federal legislation to establish a new federal standard for medical liability trials, a measure family physicians support. The increases in medical liability insurance premiums over the past few years are forcing physicians to stop offering some medical services. Patients are left to search elsewhere for the care they need. These premium increases have little to do with quality health care, but much to do with insurer profitability.
"The AAFP supports passage of medical liability legislation that contains reforms such as those that have been effective in California for the past 27 years. This type of reform would balance the need to appropriately compensate those patients who have been wrongfully harmed against the need for all Americans to have continued access to medical care.
"These measures will not solve the problems of the 44 million uninsured Americans or the untallied millions who are underinsured. But they are important steps in the right direction. The AAFP has developed a plan to provide health care coverage for all and we are ready to work with others toward a solution."
"The tax credits proposed by the president to assist low-income wage earners buy health insurance are a step in the right direction. Allowing small businesses to band together to negotiate with insurance companies for health care coverage for their employees is another such step. More needs to be done. Reducing the ranks of the uninsured by a few million is a short-term victory in human terms. Unfortunately, adding them to a broken health care system is a long-term strategy doomed to fail.
"As the president pointed out, there have been amazing developments in medical technology that are saving and improving lives. Yet none of these lifesaving techniques or procedures is proven to improve patient safety or quality of care.
"Computerizing health records, as the president suggests, will improve patient safety. Research shows how important administrative systems in primary care, particularly medical record systems, are as a place to eliminate errors. That's why the AAFP has been a leader among medical associations, working with technology companies to provide all 93,700 AAFP members with access to affordable hardware components and software programs to implement electronic health record systems in their offices.
"President Bush also called for an end to wasteful and frivolous medical lawsuits. He has supported federal legislation to establish a new federal standard for medical liability trials, a measure family physicians support. The increases in medical liability insurance premiums over the past few years are forcing physicians to stop offering some medical services. Patients are left to search elsewhere for the care they need. These premium increases have little to do with quality health care, but much to do with insurer profitability.
"The AAFP supports passage of medical liability legislation that contains reforms such as those that have been effective in California for the past 27 years. This type of reform would balance the need to appropriately compensate those patients who have been wrongfully harmed against the need for all Americans to have continued access to medical care.
"These measures will not solve the problems of the 44 million uninsured Americans or the untallied millions who are underinsured. But they are important steps in the right direction. The AAFP has developed a plan to provide health care coverage for all and we are ready to work with others toward a solution."
# # #
Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 100,300 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care.
Approximately one in four of all office visits are made to family physicians. That is 228 million office visits each year — nearly 84 million more than the next largest medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America’s underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care.
To learn more about the specialty of family medicine, the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, and for downloadable multi-media highlighting family medicine, visit www.aafp.org/media. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP’s award-winning consumer Web site, www.FamilyDoctor.org.
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