Defining the Healthcare Reform Debate:

March 21, 2010

Institute For Medical Wellness Healthy Living Report


Defining the Healthcare Reform Debate:

The debate has raged for over a year now. The vote will be taken today. As this newsletter was written and sent prior to the vote, I do not yet know the outcome, yet I fear that this reform bill will pass. While our healthcare system has many faults, the reforms that may become law are more like the San Andreas fault.

Here are a few words, that I feel aptly describes the healthcare reform debate, taken from a few different online dictionaries.

1) Oligarchy: An oligarchy (Greek ?λιγαρχ?α, Oligarkhía) (oligocracy) is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, military might, or religious hegemony.

Opinion only: Public opinion has been against this reform bill. Yet the Congress may yet make it law. Is our present day Congress an oligarchy?

2) Collusion is an agreement, usually secretive, which occurs between two or more persons to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically by defrauding or gaining an unfair advantage. It is an agreement among firms to divide the market, set prices, or limit production. It can involve "wage fixing, kickbacks, or misrepresenting the independence of the relationship between the colluding parties. As another example, collusion may involve cooperation between competing sellers, in the form of an agreement, express or tacit, limiting competition, or a merger or other means to raise the market price above the competitive level.


Opinion only: At first, I thought this was about health insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies fixing prices to benefit the profits of both. But after watching healthcare reform pushed through our Congress, it appears that our politicians are even better at collusion, and have colluded with just about every special interest and industry around, leaving individuals without representation.

How many private backroom political deals were struck to buy get votes?

This bill was originally written in large part by politicians in collusion with health insurers. So the major benefits are political, and for the profits of the large insurance companies. All the demonizing of insurance companies was just a tactic to try to swing public opinion in favor of reform. It did not work. We all have issues when we fight an insurer to cover a treatment. Our biggest threat is legal, supposedly with the power of the government at our sides. With the collusion between the insurers and the government, just whose side will our government be on during our next battle with the insurers?

Individuals may soon be mandated to purchase insurance, and their choices of policies to purchase will be regulated and limited by the government. What the government fails to understand is that it is the government regulations and mandates that increases the costs of healthcare. They are just doubling down on bad policy!!

I will stop here, but not because I have run out of opinions.

But first, here is a link on healthcare reform from one of my volunteer crackerjack patients researchers.

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After the above reform discussion, I feel the need to lighten it up a little, and no better way then some HMO humor.

HMO Jokes Segment


•The problem is that 99.99% of the HMO's make a bad name for the rest of them.
•Title for the meeting held in Michigan was an excellent example for oxymoron: "Managed care ethics."
•Q: What is the difference between an HMO and a car battery? A: The battery has a positive side.
•Q: What's the difference between an HMO doc and a seagull? A seagull can still make a significant deposit on a Mercedes.
Disclaimer: I have never owned a Mercedes, and my car is now 12 years old!!!

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Blogroll

For those of you who are not internet savvy, a blogroll is not a type of sushi. But they are part of the many sources I research for new, old or changing information concerning your health.

I have many blogs that I follow, some of which are listed below:

http://diabetesupdate.blogspot.com/ Diabetes Update

http://www.fathead-movie.com/ Fat Head- You've been fed a load of bologna

http://nephropal.blogspot.com/ Health and Medicine from an Evolutionary Standpoint

http://www.paleonu.com/ paleolithic nutrition - duplicating the evolutionary metabolic milieu

http://donmatesz.blogspot.com/ explores food, fitness, pharmacy, freedom, and philosophy using an evolutionary paradigm. Primal Wisdom refers to the accumulated wisdom of our pre-agricultural ancestors as well as the innate wisdom built into the modern human organism through millions of years of evolution.

http://robbwolf.com/ Intermittent Fasting, Fitness, & Paleolithic Nutrition

http://www.blog.sethroberts.net/ Self-Experimentation, Scientific Method, the Shangri-La Diet, etc.

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/ The Blog of Michael R.Eades, M.D., A critical look at nutritional science and anything else that strikes my fancy

http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/ Measure, track and control coronary atherosclerotic plaque

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com A blog about health, food, wholesome living and whatever else captures my interest.

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Conclusion:

So if healthcare reform passes and is signed into law, what do I see happening?

I really do not like making predictions, but since you asked:

I will limit my predictions to the Institute For Medical Wellness. We will continue to offer patient-centered, non-rushed medical care focusing on prevention of illness regardless of any reform bill, because it is what is demanded from my patient's and what is best for your health.

So if and when millions of individuals are forced to purchase insurance, and find their way into physicians offices, my question becomes, are there enough physicians? The answer is NO! So these newly insured will find themselves waiting in long lines at doctors offices or emergency rooms. But the era of the 8 minute doctor visit will be over. It will be replaced with a 5 minute visit, as doctors will need to see many more patients each day. Please tell me how can that be accomplished while maintaining high quality care?

The Institute For Medical Wellness will continue as is.

•Our routine office visit will remain at 20 minutes.
•Yearly wellness exams will continue at 45-60 minutes.
•Same day appointments and minimal if any waiting room time will continue.
•Wellness Plans that are less expensive than your cell phone bill or gym membership!

When we can no longer continue meeting the above conditions, we will stop accepting new patients. We value every individual in our practice, I hope as much as each individual values themselves!

So you are all still free to decide, regardless of healthcare reform, where to obtain your healthcare. You can remain in the present healthcare system, where doctor visits last 5-8 minutes, and it can take a week for a sick visit. Or you can join with The Institute for Medical Wellness for healthcare delivery the way it should be, where the focus is always on you!!

To Good Health!


Steven Horvitz, D.O,
Board Certified Family Practice
Founder of The Institute For Medical Wellness
128 Borton Landing Road, Suite Two
Moorestown, NJ 08057
Phone 856-231-0590
Fax 856-294-0311
www.drhorvitz.com