29 March 2010

Arab-American Medical Professionals Weigh Impact of Health Bill

Doctors and nurses hope health care improves for Americans

President Obama signs the health care bill March 23 in the East Room of the White House in Washington.

By M. Scott Bortot
Staff Writer

Washington — After months of debate in Washington and across the nation on health care reform, President Obama signed historic legislation into law March 23 that will extend coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans.

Like most of their colleagues in the medical field, Arab-American health professionals are supportive of the legislation but have concerns about its impact. They, like all Americans, are debating the positives and negatives of the new law.

“Is it the ideal bill? Is it the best bill? I would say no,” said Virginia-based physician Amin Barakat, adding that while the bill may contain pitfalls, it is a good start to helping uninsured Americans. “There are many positive points in the bill I would like to see carried out, such as not dropping insurance for people with pre-existing conditions if they lose their jobs.”

On March 25, the House of Representatives passed a bill described as a “package of fixes” to the law signed by the president. The added legislation is expected to attach $60 billion to the health care overhaul, bringing its total price tag to $940 billion over 10 years, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.

Chicago-area physician Jihad Shoshara said he thinks the current American medical system has two major flaws.

“One is there is an excessive amount of waste of money, as far as it is a for-profit system so there is not a major incentive to cut costs,” Shoshara said. “The second big problem is that it didn’t cover everybody, and from a moral standpoint that is unacceptable in America today.”

Shoshara said the new law may help stave off financial disaster. He said many uninsured Americans never see a primary-care physician and seek treatment at hospital emergency rooms only after illnesses become unbearable.

Emergency rooms in the United States are required by law to treat patients and cannot turn anyone away, regardless of whether they can pay.

“They go to the emergency rooms, and [hospitals] end up providing very expensive medical treatment that will not be reimbursed,” Shoshara said. “What do the hospitals do to compensate for that? They try to drive up costs elsewhere to be able to cover those costs.”

Hospitals then provide more services than are medically necessary, Shoshara said. To offset losses in treating uninsured patients, hospitals run extra tests using expensive equipment. This drives up the overall costs to the health system, Shoshara said.

Despite some reservations about the health bill, Shoshara said he thinks it is a good start.

“I think it is making a very positive step in that it covers most people,” Shoshara said, adding he wished the bill included more cost-cutting measures. “But I hope these holes get closed as time goes on.”

American medical associations remain divided over the health bill, although most support some type of medical reform. The new law is backed by most primary-care physician associations because it is expected to increase patient visits for their doctors. Many associations representing specialists opposed the bill, seeing in it measures they said target their members because they charge more for services.

In many cases, organizations that represent both specialists and primary-care physicians have not adopted an official position on the health bill. The National Arab American Medical Association (NAAMA), whose membership represents an array of medical professionals, had no comment on the issue.

Nursing professionals will be affected by the law, said Rose Khalifa, president and founder of the National American Arab Nurses Association (NAANA). Although NAANA did not have an official position on the health legislation, Khalifa said it will help those who need it most.

“We are hopeful that this historical legislation will be as beneficial as we anticipate it should be,” Khalifa said, adding that NAANA supports nursing initiatives contained in the legislation.

Following the bill’s implementation, Khalifa said, there will be a demand for more nurses to care for a larger base of patients. Khalifa praised public officials who added provisions to the legislation that will provide funding for scholarships and education programs for nurses.

“We were very pleased that this was considered because we not only have a national shortage but a worldwide shortage of nurses,” Khalifa said. “We are currently experiencing a shortage at the physician base, so we can only imagine how it will be when a greater number of people need access to health care.”

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)