Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/63200
ONONDAGA COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY Reform? T What Lies Ahead for U.S. Health Care By Gerald N. Hoffman HE ANTICIPATED RULING in June on the constitutional- ity of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will determine what lies ahead for U.S. health care reform. Then we will know whether Congress and the president have to go back to the drawing board and start all over, make changes in cur- rent law or move forward with more health care reform legislation. As one who has followed the del iberat ions of the U. S. Supreme Court from many perspectives, I cannot recall a time — other than the court's consideration of lawsuits related to the 2000 presidential elec- tion — when the court has occupied so much attention from the news media and the public. The three days of oral arguments in the last week of March were riveting for those of us who have been following this issue for the past few years. From my viewpoint as a county medical society executive, it is clear that physicians in this area and across the country have varied views on the health care reform law, much like everyone throughout the United States. Some applaud the law and hope it will survive the scrutiny of the Supreme Court. Some want the law thrown out entirely, while others would like to see additional legislation passed. I was deeply disappointed that the health care reform law did not do much to provide badly needed incentives to attract more young physicians to primary care. Admittedly, it was appro- priate that steps were taken to address the needs of the uninsured and the under- served, but who is going to deliver this care? I must admit my bias as a patient and county medical society executive, but I think that physicians should remain the 22 | Central New York MD NEWS s MDNEWS.COM ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++ + +