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Sat Jul 25 15:53:11 BST 2009

Just to support part of what Ken says, a friend of mine who was recently hospitalized in California, was awestruck by a hospital bill of > $38,000 for outpatient surgery. The itemized showed, for example, that the charge for ONE (1) Vicodin was $97.00 .  "We met the enemy and he is us." to quote Pogo

Norman

Norman McSwain MD
Trauma Director, Charity Hospital
Professor of Surgery, Tulane University
New Orleans LA
504 988 5111
norman.mcswain at tulane.edu <mailto:norman.mcswain at tulane.edu> 

________________________________

From: trauma-list-bounces at trauma.org on behalf of kmattox at aol.com
Sent: Sat 7/25/2009 9:39 AM
To: Trauma-List [TRAUMA.ORG]
Subject: Re: BRAVO to the ACS

If the objective is to cut costs and stop spiral of medicare spending, that can be done, if we have the political and cultural will, that can be done by mid afternoon today.  Just apply the system under which Norm and I have worked for decades.  

If the objective is access for all, that too is possible by noon today if we are willing to just do it and cut out big profits of insurance companies and charge markups by hospitals, and adm-legal costs and make some hard prioritization decisions.   If the issue is to federalize medicine, religion, the internet, legal services, ownership of property, education, food services....., etc.,  it will NEVER happen in the USA.   
K

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

-----Original Message-----
From: "McSwain, Norman E Jr." <nmcswai at tulane.edu>

Date: Sat, 25 Jul 2009 09:24:52
To: Trauma-List [TRAUMA.ORG]<trauma-list at trauma.org>
Subject: RE: BRAVO to the ACS

Ken is correct. It is all smoke and mirrors. It shifts power from private enterprise to the government. it shifts from capitalism to socialism. This will create a czar of medicine who will decide what medical care is given and when.

 It will not work as advertised.

I can say that from experience. I come from the only state in the Union with universal health care. In fact, we have had such a system since the 1930's. Gov. Huey P. Long created a medical care system  that "no citizen is more than a day's horse back ride away from a hospital'. Every Louisiana citizen is guaranteed health care Our system cost almost more per capita than any state in the union and our health care is very close to the bottom. I believe we are 4th from the top in cost and 4th from the bottom in outcome.

If that is your goal for US health care, then support the current legislation unchanged.

Norman

Norman McSwain MD
Trauma Director, Charity Hospital
Professor of Surgery, Tulane University
New Orleans LA
504 988 5111
norman.mcswain at tulane.edu <mailto:norman.mcswain at tulane.edu>

________________________________

From: trauma-list-bounces at trauma.org on behalf of kmattox at aol.com
Sent: Sat 7/25/2009 7:27 AM
To: Trauma-List [TRAUMA.ORG]
Subject: Re: BRAVO to the ACS

NeitHer do most Americans.   This is why ACS, AMa and others - YOU must be iNvolved.    The bill in coNgress is about shift in power and control not reform in your health system. 
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

-----Original Message-----
From: Sanjay Gupta <sanjaygupta99_91 at yahoo.com>

Date: Sat, 25 Jul 2009 03:41:36
To: Trauma-List [TRAUMA.ORG]<trauma-list at trauma.org>
Subject: RE: BRAVO to the ACS

If the Government is asking for another 1 trillion dollars (that is one million times one million dollars), how the Federal Program is saving money is difficult for me to understand.  Well - I am just a docotor, I do not understand numbers.

Sanjay Gupta

--- On Fri, 7/24/09, McSwain, Norman E Jr. <nmcswai at tulane.edu> wrote:

> From: McSwain, Norman E Jr. <nmcswai at tulane.edu>
> Subject: RE: BRAVO to the ACS
> To: "Trauma-List [TRAUMA.ORG]" <trauma-list at trauma.org>
> Date: Friday, July 24, 2009, 7:43 PM
> The change is welcome
>
> Norman
>
> Norman McSwain MD
> Trauma Director, Charity Hospital
> Professor of Surgery, Tulane University
> New Orleans LA
> 504 988 5111
> norman.mcswain at tulane.edu
> <mailto:norman.mcswain at tulane.edu>
>
>
>________________________________
>
> From: trauma-list-bounces at trauma.org
> on behalf of KMATTOX at aol.com
> Sent: Fri 7/24/2009 8:17 PM
> To: trauma-list at trauma.org
> Subject: Re: BRAVO to the ACS
>
>
>
> Still under discussion.   This was enabling
> not funding  legislation.  
> Contact our congresspersons.    It  is the
> Principle here that is important.
> This is a pivital point in  health care
> reform.   Up to this point the
> objective has not been  health care reform, but a
> shift from private medicine to
> federalized funding and  control.   As
> of TODAY, with this leadership,
> there has been a shift  in FOCUS NATIONAL, led by the
> ACS and the AMA to do what
> is best for patients,  for quality, for access, and
> then address the
> funding.    There  is already sufficient
> funding in the existing 3 trillion/year
> expenditures in  hard money and in kind contributions
> to do what everyone
> desires.   It  is the governance that
> is the debate, and as of today it is
> being defined by  over riding governing principles,
> not partisan politics for
> power and  control.  
>
> k
>
>
>
>
>
> In a message dated 7/24/2009 8:13:37 P.M. Central Standard
> Time,
> nmcswai at tulane.edu
> writes:
>
> Ken
> Is funding for uncompensated patient care included?
> Is  the Emergency Care Coordination Center funded?
>
>
> Norman
>
> Norman  McSwain MD
> Trauma Director, Charity Hospital
> Professor of Surgery,  Tulane University
> New Orleans LA
> 504 988  5111
> norman.mcswain at tulane.edu
> <mailto:norman.mcswain at tulane.edu>
>
>
>________________________________
>
> From:  trauma-list-bounces at trauma.org
> on behalf of KMATTOX at aol.com
> Sent: Fri  7/24/2009 7:40 PM
> To: trauma-list at trauma.org
> Cc: brittld at evms.edu;
> Redstart at aol.com;
> KMATTOX at aol.com
> Subject: BRAVO to the  ACS
>
>
>
> The ACS sent this news brief out this afternoon - WELL
> DONE  -  I  recommend
> that Medical Disaster Response be added to this  and
> maybe even add
> something about Acute Care Surgery
>
> k
>
> HOUSE COMMITTEE APPROVES  LANGUAGE ENSURING ACCESS
> TO  TRAUMA CARE
>
> On July 20, the House Energy and Commerce Committee
> approved  an amendment
> to H.R. 3200, America's Affordable Health  Choices Act
> of 2009,  which would
> expand patient access to emergency  and trauma care.
> The approved
> amendment,
> which was still being  reviewed by the College's
> congressional affairs
> staff at press time, would  regionalize emergency care
> and shore up the
> nation's
> trauma centers. The  new language also calls for
> authorizing the
> establishment of  an  Emergency Care Coordination
> Center, which would serve
> as a
> centralized  hub  for all urgent care. As noted
> previously in ACS
> NewsScope, the
> regionalization and trauma center language was also
> included in the  health
> care  reform legislation that the Senate Health,
> Education,  Labor, and
> Pensions
> Committee approved earlier this month. For more
> information, contact
> kmcdonald at facs.org
> .
>
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