Health Reform on a National Scale

The New York Times is doing a marvelous job outlining the key components of health reform that are coming up for debate this summer. To see the baseball-like scorecard of the different camps in the House, Senate and White House, please see their overview from last week here.

There are three plans racing towards the White House for approval currently: two in the Senate and one in the House.

The Senate Health Committee (chaired by Senator Dodd instead of Senator Kennedy) is focused on individual mandates and a public health plan. They have started drafting a plan, but details are still murky.

The Senate Finance Committee (chaired by Max Baucus and the ranking republican Charles Grassley) is leaning towards mandates with an insurance cooperative. They're looking at ways to pay for this by taxing employer-paid health benefits (in some scale), and scaling back public programs, including "Medicare payments to teaching hospitals." (This is also called GME money and I'm a little worried about what this might mean to an academic medical center.)

The House committees that are working together to draft a single plan (Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees) are looking at mandates and a public insurance option. How they propose to pay for their plan is still murky, but there's been talk about sin taxes on a federal level (alcohol, cigarettes, soft drinks, etc.).

The White House wants to sign something into law by October of this year. Stay tuned as this debate unfolds and we see where our future lies.

Graduation!

Last Friday 6/13/2009, we had a very successful graduation ceremony in the Vey Auditorium. It is always a pleasure to hear about the successes of our graduates and their future plans. Our graduates are listed below:

General Psychiatry Residents
Jeanette Ardans, MD
Amela Blekic, MD
Angela Casmier, MD
Daniel Dick, MD
Leigh Hedrick, MD
Aaron Krenkel, MD

Addiction Psychiatry Fellow
Gilbert Simas, MD

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellows
Joshua Dow, MD
Kimber Pezzoni, MD
Jonathan Posner, MD

Forensic Psychiatry Fellows
Stephanie Lopez, MD
Simrat Sethi, MD

Geriatric Psychiatry Fellow
David Mansoor, MD

Dr. Ardans was selected as the Resident of the Year
Drs. Zerbe and Winters received Teaching Awards
Drs. Sahana Misra and Kristen Snyder received the Distinguished Service Award

Drs. Leung and Norwood Knight-Richardson received the Chair's Award.

Congratulations to all!

In my remarks I spoke to the difficult times we have been through this year. I'd like to again express my appreciation to staff, residents, and faculty for their sacrifices on behalf of the department. Thanks to your efforts we have been able to continue the critically important work that is our and our department's responsibility and privilege.

I quoted the Oath of Amatus during my talk and some have expressed a desire to see the text which is given below:


The Oath of Amatus
by Amatus Lusitanus (1511-1568)

I swear by God the Almighty and Eternal (and by His most holy Ten Commandments given on Mount Sinai by Moses the lawgiver) that I will never in my medical practice depart from what has been handed down in good faith to us and posterity; I will never practice deception, I will never overstate or alter therapy for the sake of gain, I will always strive to benefit mankind; I will not praise or censure anyone to indulge private interests, but only when truth demands it. If I speak with falsehood, may God and His Angel Raphael punish me with Their eternal wrath and may no one henceforth place trust in me.
I will not be greedy in seeking remuneration for medical services and will treat many without accepting any fee, but with none less care. I will offer my services in equal manner to all, to Hebrews, Christians, and Muslims. Loftiness of station will not influence me and I will accord the same care to the poor as to those of exalted rank.
In prescribing drugs I will exercise moderation guided by the condition of the invalid. I will never reveal a secret entrusted in me.. Students who come to me will be regarded a though they were my daughters and sons, I will use my best efforts to instruct them in medicine and to urge them to good conduct. I will publish my medical works not to satisfy ambition, but that I might, in some measure, contribute to the furtherance of the health of mankind; I will leave to others the judgment of whether I have succeeded; such at least will always be my aim and have the foremost place in my prayers."