Rep John Shadegg on health care reform

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A funny thing happened on the way to the ACR Economic Update. For those not in the know, this afternoon’s session by Maurine Dennis—to be repeated again tomorrow at 2 p.m., which I’ll definitely be attending so I can keep you all up to speed on their valuable intel—was preempted by the arrival of surprise speaker Rep John Shadegg (R-Ariz), a longtime advocate for physicians and member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, who delivered an update on what’s happening with health care reform. There had been rumors that Rep Shadegg might make an appearance, and I was so delighted at the opportunity to bring you all inside the session with me that I took down his speech to the assembled group as close to verbatim as I could.

Depending on which side of the political divide you stand on, his remarks have an equal chance of inspiring you or enraging you. Either way, though, they represent a valuable inside look at the number-one policy issue facing America today. I also took notes on a few attendees’ questions, as well as Shadegg’s answers, all after the jump.

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President Obama is a good basketball player

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. . . and some other insights from this morning’s RBMA general session on health care in a sick economy, delivered by Jeff Bauer, PhD, of ASC Health Care Solutions in Chicago:

Bauer opened his speech by explaining that as a health care economist and futurist, he would give a “quick ultrasound, diagnostics, prognosis and a treatment plan” for the current health care climate. With talk of reform dominating the airways and newspapers, Bauer reminded the audience of radiology managers that nearly every candidate pitches a health care reform plan that is never enacted once that candidate becomes an elected official. “These mandates are popular,” he noted, “but they’re not immune to challenges. The public support isn’t there, because it means dollars out of their pockets.”

Bauer noted that there is no health care reform plan that can provide access for more people while improving quality and reducing costs: the three are “mathematically exclusive.” And President Obama, who, anecdotally, is apparently a pretty good basketball player, has too many balls in the air down on Capitol Hill to focus on the best possible solution.

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Radiology’s Changing Dynamics: Health Care Reform

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It’s a cold, sunny morning here in Chicago, and I’m sitting in on the first of two sessions entitled “Where is the Radiologist?: Radiology’s Changing Dynamics.” The second of the two will kick off at 10:30 a.m. in room E350 of the Lakeside Learning Center, so if you’re missing out on this morning’s session, you can still stop in for the latter session.

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Paramjit Chopra, MD: What You’re Doing Wrong

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“When I look at this country,” said Paramjit Chopra, MD, who immigrated to the US twenty years ago, “I realize that we are incredibly spoiled. We want everybody to have everything, and we don’t want to worry about who’s going to pay for it. The basic principle of economics is that there is going to be scarcity.” Just the facts at this morning’s session on what radiologists need to do to prepare for health care reform, where Chopra led the discussion.

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How Not to Wind Up Like MIDI and West Valley

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This morning I popped in on a session focused on Medicare fraud and abuse. Stuart Langbein, JD, offered “tales from the front line” – and as a lawyer dealing with Medicare fraud issues, he had plenty of material to discuss. “There’s been a lot of attention paid in the past decade to health care fraud and abuse, and I think we’re only going to see that continue,” he said. “Congress is going to pump more money into fraud and abuse efforts with health care reform.”

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