A new Investor’s Business Daily poll contends that nearly half the nation’s doctors would “Consider leaving [their] practice or taking an early retirement” if “Congress passes its health care plan.”
Two of every three practicing physicians oppose the medical overhaul plan under consideration in Washington, and hundreds of thousands would think about shutting down their practices or retiring early if it were adopted, a new IBD/TIPP Poll has found.
The poll contradicts the claims of not only the White House, but also doctors’ own lobby — the powerful American Medical Association — both of which suggest the medical profession is behind the proposed overhaul.
It also calls into question whether an overhaul is even doable; 72% of the doctors polled disagree with the administration’s claim that the government can cover 47 million more people with better-quality care at lower cost.
I consider these numbers about as valid as those in the recent commuting pain survey claiming most people would pay $20 per 15 minutes saved on their commute. In reality, few of the doctors that are truly outraged at the proposed changes can either afford to give up their practices or would rather be doing something else. Further, this is a mail survey, so the results are particularly skewed because it’s essentially a self-selected sample.
My guess is that the 2/3 who oppose “the” plan is about right, despite the fact that there isn’t yet a single plan to oppose. Moreover, I’m actually surprised that they found 25% who believed “government can cover 47 million more people and it will cost less money and the quality of care will be better.” Granted, it’s a ridiculously written triple-barreled question with no research validity whatsoever. But anyone who’s not only schooled in how medical care works but did well enough in advanced math to get into medical school should know better.
