EDITORIAL: Expand the practice of health care providers
Gov.
There is some difference in the training of optometrists and ophthalmologists -- a distinction that some in the medical community stand upon in arguing against the change. But the difference isn't significant enough for the other 49 states in the union, which trust optometrists to handle this care.
"It's unconscionable that
They faced the same headwinds as they do today -- from ophthalmologists and physicians.
That resistance proved too much last year. The idea had plenty of names behind it, just not the right ones. About 100 lawmakers had signed onto the optometrists' proposal, including representatives from the
A key difference this time around is that the governor is lobbying for the reform. Baker is pressing for other changes, as well, to expand the practices of nurse practitioners and podiatrists. He also wants to create a category of medical professional, dental therapists, who would be permitted to provide basic oral care.
His idea is that making basic care more widely available will reduce costs for patients and insurers, including MassHealth, the state's plan for low-income patients. Such changes will help people living in rural areas who don't have ready access to doctors and dentists.
Both of those points -- less cost, greater access to care -- have spurred reforms such as these elsewhere in the country. Health officials in some truly rural areas turn to nurse practitioners, for example, to provide basic maternity care for expectant mothers.
Those of us in
Physicians say it's not just about territory and patients. They argue -- as representatives of the
All of which might be more compelling if these medical professionals weren't delivering top-notch care in other parts of the country -- in the case of optometrists, every other part of the country.
Everyone recognizes the pressure on our health system. Underlying the political fight over the Affordable Care Act -- and whatever replaces it -- is the unrelenting matter of cost. Growth in health care expense is as inexorable as the tide -- about 48 percent per capita in the past decade, according to the
An opportunity to ease that cost, even if just a bit, while ensuring quality care should be an easy proposal to support. Our governor, a former health industry executive, has put his name on it. The state
___
(c)2017 The Salem News (Beverly, Mass.)
Visit The Salem News (Beverly, Mass.) at www.salemnews.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
BRIEF: Pa. Supreme Court upholds $45K sanction against attorney Raynor
Republicans mislead in ad linking Bill Nelson to Elizabeth Warren on single payer
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News