My husband's doctor stupidly condemns labor unions

[cap]

My husband's doctor started on a tear about how labor unions are too powerful and have made America less competitive.

Unfortunately, I realized something after we left her office. Her practice depends a lot on union health care plans. The sacrifices labor unions made at the bargaining table on wages in return for health care coverage are the very plans that permit her patients to have the services that she delivers. The strongest unions have the best health care coverage.

You want to break the unions that are supporting your income? Idiot.

[knitter4democracy]

1. She's also benefited from unions in her training.

Nurses' unions are very powerful in hospitals and fight for the rights for more than just their nurses. When that doctor was in med school and residency working with union members, she benefited, at least indirectly, from their hard work. When she needed a nurse to help her, she had someone--staffing levels were where they needed to be for her to learn as well as treat the patients. When she needed to learn a procedure, chances are it was a union card-carrying nurse who taught it to her or stood by to assist.

In other words, she's blithely going through life thinking everything's about her and not seeing the forest for the trees.

[MannyGoldstein]

2. His doctor's in the AMA, which is effectively a union, too

And the AMA been brutally effective at keeping America's cost of medical care the highest in the world by far, twice the average for industrialized countries, so that docs can make a lot of money.

[hunter]

21. The AMA should have become a union...

... instead it's become a puppet of the health care fucking industry.

The working conditions and pay of primary care physicians have plummeted. Fifteen minutes a patient, bang, bang, bang, all day long, 60 hours a week, that's PRODUCTIVITY!

Shareholders, bankers, and corporate executives dancing! $$$ :woohoo: $$$

The insurance companies, hospital corporations, pharmaceutical corporations, and specialist clinical corporations are sucking up all the health care money.

The insurance companies would happily raise their rates and throw primary care physicians overboard in favor of computer-guided "practitioners" (not even nurses or physician assistants) if they could.

Depressed? Here's a prescription. Next!



Many doctors are immigrants for the same reason agricultural field workers are immigrants... immigrants tend to work harder for less pay.

Anti-union doctors tend to be old farts, trust fund babies, and specialists who have never struggled with huge student loans and other modern hazards and pitfalls of the medical profession.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. I think it's the general mindset of doctors.

My father's a retired doctor and doesn't have a clue what it is to be an employee. He's never been in a position of working in hazardous conditions, not receiving enough compensation for his labor, been subject to unwarranted/exagerated criticism, and worked with the constant apprehension that he could be fired arbitrarily at any time. Because he's been a professional for all his working days.

Example how he shows his indifference and/or contempt. Last night, we ate at a beer joint and the fries for the fish-and-chips didn't meet his expectations. He didn't just complain to the waitress; he screwed up his face and was just plain nasty to her. She didn't order the frozen bag of potatoes, didn't prepare them, didn't guarantee satisfaction. And to make sure she was "punished", he left her a tip that was less than 50% of what it should have been. I intercepted the tip and added my own money to it. My father also would have no problem if he complained and got someone fired. He might be amused by it and satisfied with himself.

BTW, did I also tell you he's a republican who watches FOX News for all his information?

[Tippy]

6. I din't get through reading your first sentence and I knew he watched FOX....

[n2doc]

9. In my experience doctors are some of the greediest sob's out there

Some still uphold the tradition of the field and do deeply care for their patients and their fellow human beings. Those folks are wonderful. But a lot of them seem to view patients as a nuisance or a source of income, with their main joy being the flaunting of wealth (new sportscars, vacations, 2nd and third homes, etc.). And they are cheapskates!

[JVS]

4. Tell her to go fuck herself and find a new doctor.

[theaocp]

17. +1

I would've walked back into her office to tell her so right then and there. Narcissistic tool.

[hobbit709]

5. I'd tell her that if she wants to keep me as a patient

That she needs to keep her political opinions out of the examining room.

[HughBeaumont]

7. Of course. Not an IOTA of blame towards exorbitant executive salary/perk packages, as expected.

The well-to-do don't step on each other's toes.

[MADem]

8. WTF does she think the AMA is? It's a "white collar" (or white coat) UNION.

Does your husband really want someone that fucking stupid managing his health care?

[michreject]

20. This thread piqued my curiousity

Did some checking and found out only 1 in 5 Drs. belong to the AMA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Medical_Association

[MADem]

22. Not quite right--it's just under thirty percent, give or take.

http://mediamatters.org/research/200906150005

Doesn't matter, though--they kite along on the coattails of the paid memberships' lobbying clout.

I know a guy who shamelessly lobbies for those guys. He is paid very well.

[Shagbark Hickory]

10. Most doctors are republicans and don't support universal healthcare either.

True fact.

[mnhtnbb]

14. More MD's are supporting Single Payer as time goes by. Find

one who is a member of Physicians for a National Health Plan.

http://www.pnhp.org/

My hubby (MD) has supported single payer for 30 years.

[Shagbark Hickory]

15. I don't object to that claim.

Of course there's still a lot of reports of RW doctors making their political positions known to their patients. (Which I find disturbing)

[JVS]

16. And it will be glorious when their H1B replacements arrive and put them out of a job.

[Warpy]

11. No kidding!!!

In some ways, I'm a little loath to bash Wall Street because that's where I'm getting my income these days.

I prefer to bash a weak and corrupt Congress that stripped the regulations that would have kept the crooked game a little fairer and allowed us suckers an occasional break if not a consistent one.

But any doctor who bashes unions is in desperate need of a little education about where her income is coming from and where it is not. Non unionized people are seeing their health insurance fade until it's just a sick joke. Only the unionized can afford to see a doctor when they get sick.

[guitar man]

12. I'd have only two words for that doc

"You're fired!" :grr:

[abelenkpe]

13. If my doc said that

I would stand up and say: thanks for sharing and leave. There are other doctors.

[denverbill]

18. Nice. Why not allow unlimited enrollment in med school and give him some competition.

If everyone who wanted to be a doctor could get into medical school, maybe doctors would have to compete for patients like any other business.

[deaniac21]

23. I agree. There is absolutely no competition to get in medical

school.

[jwirr]

19. Not to mention that she probably belongs to AMA and an HMO.

While they are not unions they are banded together for the same reasons.

I often wonder if health care providers who are rethugs think about what their practice would be like if they got rid of all our national health care programs. I think they should take a little time out to "follow the money". The money they get for services rendered. WalMart is complaining that their low income customers are not spending - do health care providers think that can't happen to them?