Michael, thank you for your very encouraging note. I am not a socialist but I am a ‘social liberal.” I think health care is a human right and I think we should find a way of providing “rational” care to all. The rationale for dental care is so obvious. The cost of the healthcare for those with proper denial health is so greatly reduced as to make its absence irrational.
We have had a 4% annual reduction in reimbursement for Medicare Advantage for seven years for a total reduction of 28%. The ACA imposed a $1,700,000 tax on our IPA, half of which SETMA pays. These two things have made it impossible to pay all of our cost so the partners have gone without pay for as long as six-months at a time over the past two years. Our employees and patients have NOT suffered. This month (May) we will “break even” for the first time and I think that with drastic reductions in partners compensation (over 55% for me), we have turned the corner.
Thank you for continuing to remind me why we do what we do.
Larry
I am sharing this with Paul Grundy who will be in Australia this summer.
From: Michael Fasher
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2017 7:00 AM
To: James L. Holly
Subject: RE: Your Life Your Health The Examiner June 1, 2017 What Medical Home Really is by James L. Holly, MD
Dear Larry
Just to remind you that your care for a bunch of visiting Australians some years ago still surges through the arteries feeding health care reform in Australia. You act, things change.
I was mesmerized by your sentence ... "In reality, at some level, almost every patient seen in a medical practice is a stranger which means that this principle is central to the healthcare experience in the medical home” I’m still reflecting on it.
As a "socialist" who works to see that a taxpayer funded health system allows none to go without dental care and all are empowered to prevent dental decay (including getting fluoride into the water we all drink) I am dismayed that the Affordable Care Act has had the consequence of limiting your capacity to give.
On the philosophy of state intervention in health we are unlikely to reach consensus.
I'm writing to remind you of the impact that what you have done and what you continue to do resonates in faraway Australia. We continue to be inspired by what you give. Meeting you was an amazing gift
My regards
Michael
Michael Fasher
General Practitioner
Adjunct Associate Professor University of Sydney
Conjoint Associate Professor University of Western Sydney
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