Do HMO's Cut Costs . . . And Lives?
by
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This is the book that was waiting to be written. This is the book that was written with urgency in order to educate the public about the truth about HMO's. This is the book that was written in order to expose the behind the scenes operation of a big HMO, whose time has come to be exposed. This is the book that was written in order to expose the slick advertising of an HMO, which was supposed to be providing the highest quality care. This is the book that was written in order to expose the evils of financial incentives. This is the book that was written in order to expose the evils of fraudulent advertising of HMO's. This is the book that was written in order to expose the conspiracy of some doctors with HMO's against the helpless victims, the patients. This is the book that was written in order to show patients how to survive and fight the martialization and materialization of medicine. This is the book that was written in order to expose the conspiracy of politicians in Harrisburg and HMO's, which is so conspicuously and glaringly deceitful and is in stark contrast to the moral courage shown by the politicians in New York and New Jersey. The constituents of the politicians in Pennsylvania are being hurt, and, in fact, some have died needlessly; however, the politicians are steadfast in their desire to protect the HMO pocketbooks at the expense of their own constituents. Is Pennsylvania then an HMO-friendly state? And, if so, why? This is the book that was written in order to show how the gag rule of HMO's works. This is the book that was written in order to expose the ways the HMO's operate and the reasons why they should be made accountable as much as the doctor for medical malpractice. This is the book that was written in order to inform the public on why the doctors’ database should be accessible to them. The National Practitioners Data Bank should be released to the public to protect the consumers since they have no freedom of choice of hospitals or physicians. I can't just sit by and remain quiet and not expose all the injustices being done to patients by HMO's and the physicians beholden to HMO's. I can't just sit by and remain quiet while patients are being injured needlessly and dying unnecessarily because of financial incentives. My inaction would be tantamount to betrayal of my oath, my patients, myself, and my profession. Unlike the politicians on Capitol Hill and Harrisburg who are beholden to HMO's and who have consistently voted down the "Any Willing Provider and AntiHMO" legislation, I have taken the high road and the big financial risk and the risk of not being able to practice in the future, because I have stood up against the insurance industry. I consider whatever risk I take to be a minor one. If through this process I am able to educate the public, save lives, and make a difference, it is all worth the risk. So be it. (305 pages)
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About the Book
"This book will awaken everyone’s consciousness to HMO atrocities on human life and human dignity." "US HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS OF PA (HMO OF PA) cuts costs ...and lives: Antoinette Fiorella, Virginia Rathgeb, Donna Marie Bonner, Magdalena Dorothea Connery, Marilyn McCllelan, Chardella Boyd... and many more. Will you be the next unsuspecting victim of cost-cutting and slick advertising of US HEAL THCARE SYSTEMS OF PA?" "US HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS OF PA (HMO OF PA) cuts costs... and maims lives: Carolyn Verzicco, Basile Pappas, Rashid Brooker... and many more. Will you be the next unsuspecting victim of cost- cutting and slick advertising of US HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS OF PA?" "One unnecessary death is one too many. One unnecessary injury is one too many. Let us stop these atrocities now. " "The physician-patient relationship is the very core of the Hippocratic Oath and not a political agenda." "How many more patients need to die before Congress repeals the ERISA preemption of HMO’S? How many more patients should die before Congress repeals the ERISA preemption of HMO’S? How many more patients have to die before Congress repeals the ERISA preemption of HMO’S?" "The physicians in Pennsylvania are forced to subsidize HMO lawsuits through the Pennsylvania MEDICAL CATASTROPHIC FUND. The MEDICAL CATASTROPHIC FUND should be abolished now: it is extremely unfair, extremely unjust, extremely oppressive, extremely discriminatory, and it violates the Civil Rights of physicians practicing in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Where is the Commonwealth’s client, Justice?" "I challenge Governor Ridge to release all the HMO lawsuits data and the amount of money paid by the MEDICAL CATASTROPHIC FUND for HMO lawsuits. Mr. Governor, prove your honesty and redeem your integrity by assessing HMOs a MEDICAL CATASTROPHIC FUND surcharge or, better yet, assess US HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS OF PA a surcharge to fund the MEDICAL CATASTROPHIC FUND’S under funded liability." "Mr. Governor, do you have a heart? Do you have a soul? Do you have a conscience? If your answer to all these questions is ‘yes,’ why are you continually persecuting the physicians who are having financial hardship?"
About the Author
A devoted practitioner of medicine and fervent advocate of patients’ rights, Emerita T. Gueson graduated from the University of Santo Thomas in the Philippines. She had her rotating internship at Germantown Hospital and her General Practice residency at Community General Hospital in Reading, Pennsylvania. In addition to her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency training, she took a year of Gynecologic Pathology and Cytology at Philadelphia General Hospital. In 1970, Dr. Gueson was a gynecological research consultant on Herpes Simplex at the University of Penn Dental School. She worked at Lower Bucks Hospital in Bristol, Pennsylvania in 1971. She is presently on the medical staff of Holy Redeemer and Nazareth Hospitals. Dr. Gueson is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and of the College of Physicians. She is a member of the AMA, PMA, HALT, AMWA, and Women Physicians and Surgeons. She is on the board of directors of Physicians Who Care, a national organization of over 4,000 physicians, who support patients’ rights for quality care. Among the various publications Dr. Gueson has been listed in are Marquiz Who's Who of Medical Specialists, Marquiz Who's Who of the East, Marquiz Who's Who of American Women, Marquiz Who's Who of Medicine and Healthcare, and The World Who's Who of Women. Dr. Gueson's two other books on healthcare, DOCTORS UNDER FIRE and SCALES OF JUSTICE were published in 1989 and 1991. Dr. Gueson's articles have been published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine, in the Philadelphia Daily News, Private Practice, OB-GYN Management, and Physicians Who Care Newsletter. Dr. Gueson has been interviewed on various telephone and radio programs about healthcare issues.