Despite SOTU, Medicine Still in Crisis, States the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)

TUCSON, Ariz., Jan. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In his State of the Union speech, President Obama claimed that the "shadow of crisis" has passed, and all will be well. If Congress tries to unravel any of his achievements, such as the Affordable Care Act, he will use his veto pen.

The President stated that in the past year, "about 10 million uninsured Americans finally gained the security of health coverage." Most of those, however, were added to the Medicaid rolls, notes the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). There was no mention of the millions of Americans who lost their existing coverage and were faced with higher premiums and much higher deductibles.

ACA-compliant insurance offerings are so unattractive that as many as 25 percent of the uninsured may prefer to forgo insurance and pay the tax (the "shared responsibility payment"), states AAPS, citing a recent Gallup poll.

Other omissions from the SOTU include the number of Americans forced into part-time work or losing their jobs entirely, owing to ACA; the added administrative burdens that are driving physicians out of practice; the onerous tax reporting requirements and penalties that will hit middle-class Americans this tax season; and the insolvency of Medicare," states AAPS executive director Jane M. Orient, M.D.

The President's "Precision Medicine" initiative to attempt to spur advances in genomic medicine is an extravagant promise that might or might not result in future benefits, she said. It might also divert resources away from more promising efforts. Meanwhile, the cost of bringing a new drug to market has escalated to staggering levels, more than $2.5 billion.

"The mood of the President, his cheering section in Congress, and his supporters in the media appeared to be euphoric," states Dr. Orient. "This reflects a state of deep denial about the true state of our nation."

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is a national organization representing physicians in all specialties, founded in 1943 to preserve private medicine and the patient-physician relationship.

SOURCE Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)

Related Links

http://www.aapsonline.org

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