Former AMA chief predicts demise of ObamaCare

In an exclusive interview, former American Medical Association President Donald Palmisano predicted that whether by court action or the legislative process, President Obama’s signature healthcare reform law would be overturned. Dr. Palmisano spoke to your Chicago Conservative Examiner while he was in Chicago for the AMA’s annual conference this week and is the spokesman for the Coalition to Protect Patients’ Rights.

First and foremost, Palmisano (who is an attorney as well as a doctor) believes that the law will not survive scrutiny in the Supreme Court. He bases this opinion on an analysis of the expected swing vote on the Court, Justice Anthony Kennedy.

According to Palmisano, Kennedy has generally been reluctant to extend the Commerce Clause of the Constitution unnecessarily. In this case, the Obama administration is hoping that the court will essentially give it permission to regulate a person’s right not to buy health insurance by imposing a fine. Palmisano believes that this will be viewed by the court as regulating “inactivity” and will not stand, saying, “If the government can regulate that, they can force you to do anything.”

Regardless of the eventual legal outcome of the measure, however, he believes that public dissatisfaction with the law may cause the election of enough Republicans in the Senate in 2012 to overturn it legislatively. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has already voted to defund implementation of the law.

As to the AMA Convention, Palmisano was disappointed that the organization voted to reaffirm its position that individuals be responsible for purchasing health insurance. This position has been widely seen as tacit support for the individual mandate in the President’s healthcare law.

Perhaps more importantly, however, the organization voted to oppose the law’s Independent Payment Advisory Board and the AMA will now actively work to overturn it. IPAB is a new unelected and unaccountable 15- member group appointed by the President and empowered to make recommendations without Congressional approval to cut spending in Medicare if spending growth exceeds certain levels. Palmisano, CPPR and now the AMA believe that sweeping changes to the nation’s healthcare policy should have Congressional approval.

Although he is strenuously opposed to the law, Palmisano refuses to call it “ObamaCare,” considering that term “a pejorative.” At the same time, he feels like the official name of the act, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is something of a misnomer, claiming, “It doesn’t protect patients and isn’t making care more affordable.”

Asked if his position was influenced by partisan considerations, Palmisano said, “I’m a scientist. I believe in applying the scientific method and making decisions based on experimentation and proof. By that standard, [ObamaCare] is a disaster.”

The Coalition to Protect Patients’ Rights is made up of thousands of health care professionals who are dedicated to improving the quality and availability of healthcare for all Americans. The organization believes that President Obama’s healthcare reform has reduced the quality and accessibility of American health care.

Donald Palmisano, MD, JD, FACS, is a clinical professor of surgery and clinical professor of medical jurisprudence at Tulane University School of Medicine and an adjunct professor at The Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in the department of Health Systems Management.

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