In his address to the American Medical Association at its annual meeting on Monday, June 15, President Obama tried to assuage the group’s concerns about his proposal to create a public health plan as part of healthcare reform. He told the physicians, “The public option is not your enemy, it is your friend,” reports the Washington Post. The AMA has come out against a public plan that would mandate participation by all doctors who treat Medicare patients or one that is based on Medicare rates.
"I understand that you are concerned that today's Medicare rates will be applied broadly in a way that means our cost savings are coming off your backs," the President told the audience of physicians. "These are legitimate concerns, but ones, I believe, that can be overcome. What are not legitimate concerns are those being put forward claiming a public option is somehow a Trojan horse for a single-payer system. So, when you hear the naysayers claim that I'm trying to bring about government-run health care, know this--they are not telling the truth."
President Obama also told the AMA that he is open to reducing medical malpractice lawsuits as a way to cut healthcare costs, but that he will not agree to cap malpractice awards. In addition, he said he wanted to investigate “a range of ideas” that emphasize patient safety, evidence-based guidelines, and letting doctors concentrate on practicing medicine, reports the New York Times. “That’s how we can scale back the excessive defensive medicine reinforcing our current system of more treatment rather than better care,” he said.
