A World of Hypocrisy

Webster's Dictionary defines hypocrisy as: "The feigning of beliefs, feelings or virtues that one does not hold or possess; gross insincerity."

Today's health care environment is rampant with hypocrisy. Allow me to share some observations.

1. Corporate America says they support a pro-competitive market place. They profess a free market is best for consumers. They lament about excessive government regulations, government intrusion; government waste, etc. Their solution is for government to disappear and let business do its thing.

    

2. Why do they resist foreign competition and fight OSHA regulations? Why do they deny the existence of an unsafe work environment, and insist that work hazards and injuries are exaggerated by employees, and that the increase in workers' compensation costs are due to greedy doctors and lawyers? Meanwhile corporate profits climb while downsizing of the work force accelerates.

    

3. Big business opposes mandates. They cry foul when President Clinton ties health care reform to employers. They loudly argue this employer mandate will cause business costs to rise. These same business people opposed insurance equality laws and labeled the employee choice of provider as a mandate. Anything they don't like or that doesn't add to the bottom line is a mandate.

    

4. But in their quest to stem health expenses, they switched to managed care, or should it be called "mandated care by the boss?" If they institute a plan, it's called managed/quality-based care and the employee will take it or else. So, a business mandate is OK, but a provider mandate which results in choice is not OK. Something is wrong in America.

    

5. When confronted by "any willing provider" legislation, big business bellows that a corporation should be free to contract with any providers they feel most suited to their needs. Free choice for business, but God forbid that employees should be free to choose their own health care professional.

    

6. The Group Health Assoc. of America (GHAA) says they want to pick competent doctors and do not want any provider unless it is their selection from start to end: more providers means more expense to them. Notice, money/no choice satisfies their interests, not the patients or the provider community.

    

7. Before you go to pieces, remember that no state with any willing provider (AWP) legislation has undermined the managed care organizations in those jurisdictions. It is a huge overstatement to suggest AWP laws are anti-managed care. That is pure baloney. AWP gives choice to people and puts an end to the corporate takeover of health care. I guess NAFTA is not enough for their avarice -- they need to monopolize health delivery as well. Maybe corporations don't like doctors because they can't control them. They can't stand provider independence. What better way to end the private practice of health professionals than to force employer mandated care (alias managed care) onto the American work place.

    

8. In the final analysis, AWP legislation is the only antidote to big business' voracious appetite. Moreover, AWP presents a golden opportunity for DCs and MDs to work jointly against managed care mandated by the supporters of GNAA et al.

Hypocrisy is epidemic in America today. Let us as a profession rise above this massive insincerity and lead the coalition of DCs and MDs in each state legislature to pass AWP. This coalition on the state level could lead to a new era of cooperation between medicine and chiropractic and result in better health care for consumers. I believe the time is right. Do you agree?

Arnold Cianciulli, DC, MS
Bayonne, New Jersey