Healthcare Roundtable: Thursday, April 3, 2008 Broadcast
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Host: Dr. Ed Volpintesta, Primary Care Physician, has practiced family medicine for more than 30 years in Bethel, Connecticut. "All Health Care Is Local" is another show Dr. Volpintesta did on Ideas at Work and Beyond.
Guests: Dr. Randy Trowbridge, an area physiatrist (a doctor who specializes in rehabilitation and management of pain.)
Mr. Mark Thompson, the executive director of the Fairfield County Medical Association, which has a membership of about 1800 doctors.
Description:
Healthcare is on everyone’s mind. Whether one is rich or poor, healthy or ill, young or old, married or single, health care is seen by all as too expensive—in fact paying for medical bills is often cited as the number one cause of personal bankruptcy. In addition the system is seen as impersonal. New technology and new tests certainly play their part but much of unhappiness is aimed at the insurance companies.
When we read about the CEOs’ multimillion dollar salaries and their stock options many people get enraged. Others feel that a health system that is responsible to stockholders just doesn’t make any sense. I believe only the US and South Africa are the only industrialized countries that don’t have a universal health care system.
On the show, we will talk about Medicare and the recent Medicare advantage program which is a Medicare HMO handled by private insurers and how it may not be as good a thing as seniors have been led to believe. Finally we will spend a little time discussing how the medical liability system contributes to the high cost of health care.
Dr. Volpintesta can be reached at (203) 744-1639 or 155 Greenwood Ave, Bethel, CT -
2 Comments:
A Harvard study showed that 50% of Americans that filed for bankruptcy did so because of medical bills. Of those 50%, 76% actually had health insurance.
commented by 
Aflac, 9:06 AM
Aflac, 9:06 AM
Great show! We need to see more of Dr. Volpintesta on TV.
