[AUDIO] – By Kimberly Vlach
It was a tense evening at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg – but not because of trauma or death.
Recently, members of the Pinellas County Medical Association gathered to watch two doctors debate the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. And when health care professionals come together to talk health care reform, you can count on emotions running high.
Listen: Affordable Care Act Debate at Bayfront Medical Center
Dr. Mona Mangat
Dr. David McKalip and Dr. Mona Mangat went head-to-head for nearly two hours. McKalip, a neurosurgeon, calls for its repeal. Mangat, a physician specializing in allergies and asthma, supports it and sees it as a first step in reform.
Both agree that insurance companies are hurting the health care system as it stands now.
However, McKalip says that a free market, one in which the government doesn’t interfere, is the best way to ensure cost control. He says market forces and the laws of supply and demand will dictate prices.
Mangat, on the other hand, points out that the new law will create health care exchanges where health insurance companies will have to compete for consumers, and in competition, the best services should win over customers.
Dr. David McKalip
Even a few audience members voiced their opinions, unsolicited. It is clear that McKalip sees power and advantage in keeping health care a capitalist industry while Mangat’s concerns lie with fairness and equal access.
Make no mistake, Mangat was clear that a 20% reduction in Medicare reimbursements would cripple her practice. But she voiced her support for the Affordable Care Act in favor of helping those who need help.
Comments
The exchange between Dr. McKalip and the audience member proves how passionate people are about health care, regardless of which side of the fence they’re on. Great story, Kim!
[...] From HealthyState.org: Debate on Health Care Reform Law Heats Up [...]