This letter is from a physician, you know, one of those evil doctors who are only in it for the money. Doctors have been vilified and demonized for decades. Those who do so want to be paid as much as the highest paid doctor, but do not want to work as hard. Read this letter. It hits the mark on government run healthcare.

READ THIS !!!!

Subject: Health Care by Atlanta Physician

This letter is from Dr. Zane Pollard.  He is operates at Children'sHealth
Care of Atlanta.   Google him, he has a very impressive CV.

Friends:

I have been sitting quietly on the sidelines watching all of this national
debate on healthcare. It is time for me to bring some clarity to the table
and, as your friend, by explaining many of the problems from the aspect of a
doctor. First off the government has involved very few of us physicians in
the healthcare debate.  While the American Medical Association has come out
in favor of the plan, it is vital to remember that the AMA only represents
17% of the American physician workforce.

I have taken care of Medicaid patients for 35 years while representing the
only pediatric ophthalmology group left in Atlanta, Georgia that accepts
Medicaid.  Why is this?  For example, in the past 6 months I have cared for
three young children on Medicaid who had corneal ulcers. This is a
potentially blinding situation because if the cornea perforates from the
infection, almost surely blindness will occur.  In all three cases the
antibiotic needed for the eradication of the infection was not on the
 approved Medicaid list.  Each time I was told to fax Medicaid for the
approval forms which I did. Within 48 hours the form came back to me who was
mailed in immediately via fax and I was told that I would have my answer in
10 days. Of course by then each child would have been blind in the eye. Each
time the request came back denied.  All three times I personally provided
the antibiotic for each patient which was not on the Medicaid approved list.
Get the point-rationing of care.

Over the past 35 years I have cared for over 1000 children born with
congenital cataracts. In older children and in adults the vision is
rehabilitated with an intraocular lens. In newborns we use contact lenses
which are very expensive. It takes Medicaid over one year to approve a
contact lens, post cataract surgery. By that time a successful anatomical
operation is wasted, as the child will be close to blind from a lack of
focusing for so long a period of time. Again extreme rationing.

Solution - I have a foundation here in Atlanta supported 100% by private
funds which supplies all of these contact lenses for my Medicaid and illegal
immigrants children for free.  Again waiting for the government would be
disastrous.

Last week I had a lady bring her child to me.  They are Americans but live
in Sweden as the father has a job with a big corporation. The child had the
onset of double vision 3 months ago and has been unable to function normally
because of this. They are people of means but are waiting 8 months to see
the ophthalmologist in Sweden. Then if the child needed surgery they would
be put on a 6 month waiting list. She called me and I saw her that day. It
turned out that the child had accommodative
esotropia (crossing of the eyes, treated with glasses that correct for
farsightedness) and responded to glasses within 4 days, no surgery was
needed.  Again rationing of care.

Last month I operated on a 70 year old lady with double vision present for 3
years. She responded quite nicely to her surgery and now is symptom free. I
also operated on a 69 year old judge with vertical double vision.  His
surgery went very well and now he is happy as a lark.

I have  been told - but of course  there is no healthcare bill that has been
passed yet - that  these  2 people because of their age would have been
denied  surgery and just told to wear a patch over one eye to alleviate the
symptoms of double vision.  Obviously cheaper than surgery.

I spent two years in the US Navy during the Viet Nam war and was well
treated by the military.  There was tremendous rationing of care and we were
told specifically what things the military personnel and their dependents
could have and which things they could not have.  While in Viet Nam, my wife
Nancy got sick and got essentially no care at the Naval Hospital in Oakland,
California. She went home and went to her family's private internist in
Beverly Hills.  While it was expensive, she received an  immediate work up.
Again rationing of care.

For those of you who are over 65, this bill in its present form might be
lethal for you. People in England over 59 cannot receive stents for their
coronary arteries. The government wants to mimic the British plan. For those
of you younger, it will still mean restriction of the care that you and your
children receive.

While 99% of physicians went into medicine because of the love of medicine
and the challenge of helping our fellow man, economics are still important.
My rent goes up 2% each year and the salaries of my employees go up 2% each
year. Twenty years ago ophthalmologists were paid $1800  for a cataract
surgery and today $500. This is a 73% decrease in our fees.  I do not know
of many jobs in America that have seen this lowering of fees.

But there is more to the story than just the lower fees. When I came to
Atlanta there was a well known ophthalmologist who charged $2500 for
cataract surgery as he felt the was the best. He had a terrific
reputation and in fact I had my mother's bilateral cataracts operated on by
him with a wonderful result. She is now 94 and has 20/20 vision in both
eyes. People would pay his $2500 fee.  However the government came in and
said that any doctor that  does  Medicare  work can not  accept  more than
the going rate  (now  $500)  or  he or she would be  severely fined. This
put an end to his charging $2500.  The government said it was illegal to
accept more than the government allowed rate.

What I am driving at is that those of you well off will not be able to go to
the head of the line under this new healthcare plan just because you have
money as no physician will be willing to go against the law to treat you.

I am a pediatric ophthalmologist and  trained  for  10 years  post college
to become a pediatric ophthalmologist (add  two years  of my service in the
Navy and that comes  to 12 years).  A neurosurgeon spends 14 years Post
College and if he or she has to do the military that would be 16 years. I am
not entitled to make what a neurosurgeon makes but the new plan calls for
all physicians to make the same amount of payment. I assure you that medical
students will not go into neurosurgery and we will have a tremendous
shortage of neurosurgeons. Already the top neurosurgeon at my  hospital who
is in good health and only 52 years old has just quit because he can't stand
working with the government anymore. Forty-nine percent of children under
the age of 16 in the state of Georgia are on Medicaid so he felt he just
could not stand working with the bureaucracy anymore.

We are being lied to about the uninsured.  They are getting care. I operate
on at least 2 illegal immigrants each month who pay me nothing and the
children's hospital at which I operate charges them nothing also.
This is true not only on Atlanta, but of every community in America. The
bottom line is that I urge all of you to contact your congresswomen and
congressmen and senators to defeat this bill.  I promise you that
you will not like rationing of your own health.

Furthermore, how can you trust a physician that works under these conditions
knowing that he is controlled by the state?  I certainly could not trust any
doctor that would work under these draconian conditions. One last thing,
with this new healthcare plan there will be a  tremendous shortage of
physicians.  It has been estimated that
approximately 5% of the current physician work force will quit under this
new system.  Also it is estimated that another 5% shortage will occur
because of decreased men and women wanting to go into medicine.  At
The present time the US government has mandated gender equity in admissions
to medical schools.  That means that for the past 15 years that somewhere
between 49% and 51% of each entering class are females. This is true
of private schools also, because all private schools receive federal
funding.

The average career of a woman in medicine now is only 8-10 years and the
average work week for a female in medicine is only 3-4 days.  I have now
trained 35 fellows in pediatric ophthalmology.  Hands down the best was  a
female that I trained  4 years  ago - she  was head and  heels above all
others I have trained.  She now practices only 3 days a week.

 Zane Pollard, MD

This letter is from a physician, you know, one of those evil doctors who are only in it for the money. Doctors have been vilified and demonized for decades. Those who do so want to be paid as much as the highest paid doctor, but do not want to work as hard. Read this letter. It hits the mark on government run healthcare.

READ THIS !!!!

Subject: Health Care by Atlanta Physician

This letter is from Dr. Zane Pollard.  He is operates at Children'sHealth
Care of Atlanta.   Google him, he has a very impressive CV.

Friends:

I have been sitting quietly on the sidelines watching all of this national
debate on healthcare. It is time for me to bring some clarity to the table
and, as your friend, by explaining many of the problems from the aspect of a
doctor. First off the government has involved very few of us physicians in
the healthcare debate.  While the American Medical Association has come out
in favor of the plan, it is vital to remember that the AMA only represents
17% of the American physician workforce.

I have taken care of Medicaid patients for 35 years while representing the
only pediatric ophthalmology group left in Atlanta, Georgia that accepts
Medicaid.  Why is this?  For example, in the past 6 months I have cared for
three young children on Medicaid who had corneal ulcers. This is a
potentially blinding situation because if the cornea perforates from the
infection, almost surely blindness will occur.  In all three cases the
antibiotic needed for the eradication of the infection was not on the
 approved Medicaid list.  Each time I was told to fax Medicaid for the
approval forms which I did. Within 48 hours the form came back to me who was
mailed in immediately via fax and I was told that I would have my answer in
10 days. Of course by then each child would have been blind in the eye. Each
time the request came back denied.  All three times I personally provided
the antibiotic for each patient which was not on the Medicaid approved list.
Get the point-rationing of care.

Over the past 35 years I have cared for over 1000 children born with
congenital cataracts. In older children and in adults the vision is
rehabilitated with an intraocular lens. In newborns we use contact lenses
which are very expensive. It takes Medicaid over one year to approve a
contact lens, post cataract surgery. By that time a successful anatomical
operation is wasted, as the child will be close to blind from a lack of
focusing for so long a period of time. Again extreme rationing.

Solution - I have a foundation here in Atlanta supported 100% by private
funds which supplies all of these contact lenses for my Medicaid and illegal
immigrants children for free.  Again waiting for the government would be
disastrous.

Last week I had a lady bring her child to me.  They are Americans but live
in Sweden as the father has a job with a big corporation. The child had the
onset of double vision 3 months ago and has been unable to function normally
because of this. They are people of means but are waiting 8 months to see
the ophthalmologist in Sweden. Then if the child needed surgery they would
be put on a 6 month waiting list. She called me and I saw her that day. It
turned out that the child had accommodative
esotropia (crossing of the eyes, treated with glasses that correct for
farsightedness) and responded to glasses within 4 days, no surgery was
needed.  Again rationing of care.

Last month I operated on a 70 year old lady with double vision present for 3
years. She responded quite nicely to her surgery and now is symptom free. I
also operated on a 69 year old judge with vertical double vision.  His
surgery went very well and now he is happy as a lark.

I have  been told - but of course  there is no healthcare bill that has been
passed yet - that  these  2 people because of their age would have been
denied  surgery and just told to wear a patch over one eye to alleviate the
symptoms of double vision.  Obviously cheaper than surgery.

I spent two years in the US Navy during the Viet Nam war and was well
treated by the military.  There was tremendous rationing of care and we were
told specifically what things the military personnel and their dependents
could have and which things they could not have.  While in Viet Nam, my wife
Nancy got sick and got essentially no care at the Naval Hospital in Oakland,
California. She went home and went to her family's private internist in
Beverly Hills.  While it was expensive, she received an  immediate work up.
Again rationing of care.

For those of you who are over 65, this bill in its present form might be
lethal for you. People in England over 59 cannot receive stents for their
coronary arteries. The government wants to mimic the British plan. For those
of you younger, it will still mean restriction of the care that you and your
children receive.

While 99% of physicians went into medicine because of the love of medicine
and the challenge of helping our fellow man, economics are still important.
My rent goes up 2% each year and the salaries of my employees go up 2% each
year. Twenty years ago ophthalmologists were paid $1800  for a cataract
surgery and today $500. This is a 73% decrease in our fees.  I do not know
of many jobs in America that have seen this lowering of fees.

But there is more to the story than just the lower fees. When I came to
Atlanta there was a well known ophthalmologist who charged $2500 for
cataract surgery as he felt the was the best. He had a terrific
reputation and in fact I had my mother's bilateral cataracts operated on by
him with a wonderful result. She is now 94 and has 20/20 vision in both
eyes. People would pay his $2500 fee.  However the government came in and
said that any doctor that  does  Medicare  work can not  accept  more than
the going rate  (now  $500)  or  he or she would be  severely fined. This
put an end to his charging $2500.  The government said it was illegal to
accept more than the government allowed rate.

What I am driving at is that those of you well off will not be able to go to
the head of the line under this new healthcare plan just because you have
money as no physician will be willing to go against the law to treat you.

I am a pediatric ophthalmologist and  trained  for  10 years  post college
to become a pediatric ophthalmologist (add  two years  of my service in the
Navy and that comes  to 12 years).  A neurosurgeon spends 14 years Post
College and if he or she has to do the military that would be 16 years. I am
not entitled to make what a neurosurgeon makes but the new plan calls for
all physicians to make the same amount of payment. I assure you that medical
students will not go into neurosurgery and we will have a tremendous
shortage of neurosurgeons. Already the top neurosurgeon at my  hospital who
is in good health and only 52 years old has just quit because he can't stand
working with the government anymore. Forty-nine percent of children under
the age of 16 in the state of Georgia are on Medicaid so he felt he just
could not stand working with the bureaucracy anymore.

We are being lied to about the uninsured.  They are getting care. I operate
on at least 2 illegal immigrants each month who pay me nothing and the
children's hospital at which I operate charges them nothing also.
This is true not only on Atlanta, but of every community in America. The
bottom line is that I urge all of you to contact your congresswomen and
congressmen and senators to defeat this bill.  I promise you that
you will not like rationing of your own health.

Furthermore, how can you trust a physician that works under these conditions
knowing that he is controlled by the state?  I certainly could not trust any
doctor that would work under these draconian conditions. One last thing,
with this new healthcare plan there will be a  tremendous shortage of
physicians.  It has been estimated that
approximately 5% of the current physician work force will quit under this
new system.  Also it is estimated that another 5% shortage will occur
because of decreased men and women wanting to go into medicine.  At
The present time the US government has mandated gender equity in admissions
to medical schools.  That means that for the past 15 years that somewhere
between 49% and 51% of each entering class are females. This is true
of private schools also, because all private schools receive federal
funding.

The average career of a woman in medicine now is only 8-10 years and the
average work week for a female in medicine is only 3-4 days.  I have now
trained 35 fellows in pediatric ophthalmology.  Hands down the best was  a
female that I trained  4 years  ago - she  was head and  heels above all
others I have trained.  She now practices only 3 days a week.

 Zane Pollard, MD