KOTA Territory NewsObama's healthcare package receives chilly reception locally

Obama's healthcare package receives chilly reception locally

Matt Hunter

On Monday morning the President wasted no time making his priorities clear.  "Healthcare is the single most important thing we can do for America's long-term fiscal health," President Obama said.

Speaking before the American Medical Association (AMA), the President reveiled his plan to overhaul the nation's healthcare system, which is designed to reduce costs for the government and Americans struggling to afford coverage.

"It shouldn't be such a hard, difficult process just to get the minimum," says Datona Conrad, a single mother living in Rapid City.  "You need to get what you need to get and be able to pay for it."

"It's very expensive," says Kristy Carter of Hermosa.  "I'm on Medicare plus I pay for extra coverage.  Otherwise I couldn't afford to pay for all the medications and if I had to go to the hospital, it'd be really hard."

Aimed at reducing the estimated $76-billion in unnecessary costs, the President's proposed plan calls for a publicly funded insurance option with reduced premiums.  There's fear the plan will force patients to leave their current plans or doctors and increase costs from private insurance companies; claims the president denies.

However, some in the medical community believe it will lead to smaller reimbursements for both small and large healthcare providers.

"We do have some concern in terms of what the impact will be for Rapid City Regional Hospital and Regional Health," Regional Hospital CEO Tim Sughrue says.  "Largely because we have such a high proportion of Medicare and Medicaid patients.  We do receive a disproportionate payment as a consequence of that. It could have a very negative impact on us financially."

Former South Dakota Senator and one-time Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Tom Daschle says for the plan to work, doctors must cut costs by reducing unnecessary tests.  That's something doctors are often hesitant to do because of the threat of malpractice lawsuits.

"I think a vast majority of doctors would agree there are always instances where they practice defensive medicine," says Dr. Ken Diamond, a physician in Rapid City. "Because no one is generally given credit or there's no ‘atta boys' from patients for doctors to avoid some tests, given the risks they pose if something is missed.

While he believes a reduction in malpractice suits is essential to cutting overall healthcare costs, President Obama does not go as to support a cap on damages paid in suits, a major point of contention with the medical community.  However many malpractice attorneys support the proposal, so long as it maintains standards for doctors.

"Medical malpractice occurs, it flat-out does," says Greg Eisland, an attorney in Rapid City who also supports opening up more medical records to patients.  "But the patient should know about it. I think this will help weed out the meritorious claims from the ones that are not meritorious."

With tough opposition from Republicans and groups like the AMA, enacting healthcare reform, a venture taken on unsuccessfully by several past Presidents, will be an uphill climb for the Obama.

The bill will cost roughly $2-trillion over 10 years but will only ensure about 16-million people according analysis of portions of the unfinished bill released by the Congressional Budget Office