Weekly Standard Reports Bogus Claim That Health Reform Would Make 46% of Doctors Quit Medicine

The Weekly Standard (and other conservative media) has reported the results of a survey that purports to show that healthcare reform will cause nearly 1/2 of primary care physicians to quit practicing medicine. This survey and the Weekly Standard's use of it are wrong on many levels.

First, the survey states that nearly 1/2 of doctors would retire early if the public option were passed. The public option, however, is officially off the table. Nevertheless, the Weekly Standard headline declares that health reform will cause 46% of primary care doctors to leave the profession.

Also, it is unclear how the pollster conducted the survey. The pollster does not provide cross-tabs. So, the background of the respondents is unclear.  Also, the methodology is undisclosed.  It is impossible to determine whether the views the survey reports represents a random sample of US physicians.

Finally, many conservative media, including the Weekly Standard, falsely claimed that the New England Journal of Medicine compiled the study.  This prompted the NEJM to submit a disclaimer.  The Weekly Standard subsequently submited a correction. The Medicus Firm, a doctor placement company, conducted the study in December 2009. 

The results of the Medicus Firm survey are quite similar to those of a widely discredited Investor's Business Daily/TIPP poll.  Both surveys, however, are vastly incongruent with other polls that measure the opinion of doctors regarding healthcare reform.

House Democrat Louise M. Slaughter: Scrap Senate Healthcare Bill

Representative Louise M. Slaughter of New York has written an op-ed for CNN.com that urges Senators to scrap a controversial healthcare bill. Echoing complaints among many liberals, Slaughter criticizes Senate Democrats for scrapping the public plan option, which Democrats -- including President Obama -- have long argued would provide competition for insurance companies and reduce the cost of coverage. Slaughter also criticizes a compromise that would restrain the provision of abortion services to persons in federally subsidized health plans.

Slaughter's essay is located here: A Democrat's view from the House: Senate bill isn't health reform.

Obama "Talking Points" Describes Public Option as "Small Part" of Reform

According to the Plum Line, the Obama administration has distributed new talking points on healthcare reform, and the document discusses the public plan option. Recently, the Senate Finance Committee rejected a proposed public plan option.

The talking points contain two interesting items. First, they state that "[t]he other four bills in the process include a strong public option," which treats the Finance Committee as an outlier.

The talking points, however, minimize the significance of the public plan by describing it as "just one small part of health insurance reform." I find it hard to understand why the public plan is a "small" element of reform. Advocates of the public plan have argued that it would provide competition and reduce the cost of insurance. Because the pending reform packages seek universal coverage, reducing the cost of insurance is extraordinarily important. To date, liberals have not abandoned the idea of a public option. I hope Obama has not done so either.