Capecchi joins call for health overhaul: Utah’s Nobel Laureate adds name to ‘White Coat’ campaign that targets Matheson. [The Salt Lake Tribune]
Mar. 17--The complexity of competing federal health care overhauls befuddles even those in the medical profession.
But "it doesn't take a Nobel Prize winner to know it's time to enact comprehensive health reform," says Utah's own Nobel Laureate Mario Capecchi. The University of Utah geneticist has lent his name to a "White Coats" campaign urging U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, one of the few Democratic holdouts, to vote for legislation to fix the country's "broken" health care system.
"It's time for Matheson to give Utah a voice in this historic decision," said Capecchi, an Italian-born American celebrated for his work manipulating mouse genes to study disease.
Nearly 900 health care workers in Utah, including more than 520 doctors, have reportedly signed the Matheson letter as part of a grass-roots effort promoted today in newspaper ads and at a noon press conference.
The professionals -- a mix of nurses, psychologists, outpatient therapists, surgeons, primary care docs and various specialists -- hail from all parts of Utah.
But most live and work in Salt Lake County, the most left-leaning area of the state.
"Whether people signed on was largely determined by their political philosophy," acknowledged Scott Poppen, an internal medicine doctor at Alta View Hospital who spearheaded the signature gathering.
Still, 10 percent of Utah's 5,000 licensed physicians is nothing to sneeze at, Poppen said. He brainstormed the campaign
last December as Congress began tackling the biggest changes to U.S. health care since the creation of Medicare in 1965.
The House and Senate are still forging a consensus. But President Barack Obama's blueprint would bar insurers from placing lifetime dollar limits on coverage or canceling policies without proof of fraud. Insurers also would no longer be able reject people with medical problems or charge them more. And eventually all Americans would have to obtain coverage or pay a fine.
"It's not perfect. But it's a first step, and a very important step," said Capecchi, who says spiraling health care costs and the ranks of uninsured have reached a crisis point. "We can't afford to wait."
Lorris Betz, CEO of the University of Utah Health System, said the first order of business should be covering America's 46 million uninsured, who drive up costs for everyone.
"Since the economic downturn, we've seen applications for charity care go up threefold," said Betz.
But the clincher for family practitioner Kim Bateman are Obama's promised payment reforms, funding and other incentives for states to explore compensating providers based on patient outcomes, as opposed to the number of tests ordered.
"I'm all for getting more people insured," said Bateman, a vice president at HealthInsight, a nonprofit devoted to streamlining Medicare. "But if we do that and don't pay attention to controlling costs, it'll be like pouring gasoline on the fire."
What spurred most health providers to advocacy, though, is seeing patients hospitalized for untreated infections, asthma attacks and complications from diabetes because they're uninsurable.
"We're the only developed nation in the world that does not cover all its citizens. We spend more on health care and for mediocre outcomes," said Ellie Brownstein, a pediatrician in Midvale who hears daily from uninsured parents of sick kids.
Brownstein can counsel parents over the phone, but can't prescribe medicine or diagnose a rash or ear infection.
Provo nurse Susan Chasson often will spend three hours or more a day hunting for free medications and charitable care for patients.
"I have one patient who is diabetic and completely relies on drug company discounts for his insulin. As a result, his health care is completely compromised," Chasson said.
Before enrolling at the U.'s medical school, Jesse Powell worked at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, where he helped roughly five patients a week avoid bankruptcy by arranging payment plans or tapping charitable foundations.
"Most hospitals will just turn down you down flat," said Powell, now in his second year of medical school.
Bountiful pediatrician Claudia Fruin said the insured suffer, too. For five or six years, Fruin lobbied for inpatient therapy for an 18-year-old with a severe eating disorder.
"But the insurer wouldn't cover it and the girl's parents couldn't afford it," said Fruin, president of the Utah Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "I don't know why we do this to kids. I don't know why we do this to ourselves. ... I'm not sure why more people aren't up in arms."
About the 'White Coats'
Brainstormed by a Utah doctor, the "White Coats" campaign is being replicated in at least 15 other cities by Doctors for America.
Utah health providers continue to join the cause. To see the latest tally and view the letter to Utah Congressman Jim Matheson, visit:
http://www.utahwhitecoats.org/index.php?t=1
About the 'White Coats'
Brainstormed by a Utah doctor, the "White Coats" campaign is being replicated in at least 15 other cities by Doctors for America. Utah health providers continue to join the cause. To see the latest tally and view the letter to Utah Rep. Jim Matheson, visit:
http://www.utahwhitecoats.org/index.php?t=1
To see more of The Salt Lake Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sltrib.com.
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