Debate Over Health Care

Re “Bush Health Plan Is Said to Focus on Tax Credits,” Jan. 9:

President Bush’s proposal giving tax credit to provide universal health coverage is probably the best compromise to our deepening health care crisis. Obviously, this approach will not satisfy everyone.

A meaningful health care package also requires major revisions in our Medicare policy as well. Currently, physicians are not allowed to charge their usual and customary fees on Medicare patients regardless of their financial status. Medicare usually refuses to pay for the cost for immunizations to forestall major illnesses. The new revised Medicare reimbursement schedule further reduces payment on most services and procedures. Since even the former “higher” reimbursement schedule did not even cover the hospital’s or the physician office’s overhead expenses, it is likely that our elderly, regardless of economic status, will no longer be able to have easy access to even reasonable health care because of the artificially low fee ceiling.

To give an example, Medicare recently advised me that it would only pay $18 for the first 10 c.c. of gamma globulin injection and nothing for anything beyond that dose for a patient who lacked an adequate level of gamma globulin to fight against infections. Since it costs my office $22 to purchase each 10 c.c. gamma globulin and the patient needs three times that each month, one can readily see the problems the elderly will be facing.

JOHN T. CHIU MD

Anaheim