Obama remarks an insult to doctors

Evidently doctors are too busy to take President Obama to task over his denigrating of their profession. In his stumping for health care and insurance, he continually acts out the physician looking at his list of fees for service.

"Let's see," he says, "I'll get a lot more money for taking out my young patient's tonsils than if I just prescribed medication." So he goes for the big bucks option.

Even more egregious is the other example he uses as nauseum. The surgeon, faced with a diabetic patient whose foot is threatened with gangrene, goes to that same list. He decides to remove the foot, according to the president, solely because he'll make a whole lot more money. The president prices the surgeon's fee at $30,000 to $40,000.

In the real world of surgery the procedure probably pays the surgeon a small fraction of Obama's estimate. Hardly enough to make the doctor rich. The disparity between the President's number for the doctor's fees and reality is found in charges by the hospital, anesthesiologist, nurses, another doctor assisting, and medication. In any case, real doctors ought to be insulted to be used this way.

But take heart, patients. From what he says in that stump speech, he's going to keep our health care out of the hands of the U.S. Post Office, and turn it over to UPS and FedEx.

J.W. Daniel

Wheaton