What I'm about to tell you is simply stunning.
A new survey published by The New England Journal of Medicine, a prestigious magazine, says that nearly half of primary care doctors in America could leave the medical profession if Obamacare is passed.
According to the Journal, 63 percent of physicians feel that health care reform is needed but should be done in a more gradual way. And an astounding 72 percent of doctors believe a public option, that is a government-run health insurance company, would have a negative impact on medical care in the USA.
From the jump, "Talking Points" has been telling you about the unintended consequences of Obamacare. But if half the nation's doctors are considering getting out, that's by far the most frightening offshoot of health care reform.
If Obamacare passes, there could be about 30 million more Americans seeking medical care from the establishment. Dick Morris says even if every doctor stays in place, the result would be health care rationing. But if doctors begin leaving the profession, well, you do the math.
The question is: Why? Why are so many doctors queasy about Obamacare? There are essentially two reasons.
First, loss of control. Most doctors value their freedom to make decisions when it comes to their patients. They don't want some pinhead in Washington telling them how to treat a person.
Second, many doctors believe Obamacare will cut payments, especially in the Medicare area. With the high cost of medical malpractice insurance and other expenses, many doctors say hey, it's just not worth it.
If the Democratic Party is concerned about an exodus of American doctors from the field, we haven't heard it. We haven't heard President Obama, Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid say anything about this.
But I believe the study in The New England Journal of Medicine because I've talked to enough doctors myself to know there's no great enthusiasm for Obamacare in the medical community, even here in liberal New York City.
Once again, "Talking Points" would not vote for Obamacare. Not because of ideology, but because of the huge expense, which the country can't afford, and the amazing array of unintended consequences that will kick in once the feds try to run the health care industry.
The massive Obamacare plan is already out of control and it hasn't even been passed yet.
And that's "The Memo."
Pinheads & Patriots
It's now been nine weeks since that terrible earthquake in Haiti. Most of the celebrities are gone from the quake zone, but one is doing something a bit different to help Haitian children.
Actor Ben Stiller is trying to raise money to establish temporary schools so Haitian kids can have some kind of education during the rebuilding process. If you want information, you can punch up StillerStrong.org. Mr. Stiller is a patriot.
Click here to watch "Pinheads & Patriots"!
On the pinhead front, apparently the mistress of John Edwards is having buyer's remorse after posing for some risqué pictures. She called Barbara Walters about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA WALTERS, CO-HOST, ABC'S "THE VIEW": She was in tears when she called. She said that when she saw the pictures, precisely the pictures that you called (ph), she said she found them repulsive. When I asked, "Well, if that was the case, then why did you pose the way you did?" She said that she trusted Mark Seliger, whom she said is a brilliant photographer, and "I went with the flow." She said that he took a lot of pictures, and he thought there might be one like that, that showed her being sexy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Sure. Miss Hunter is a pinhead, no question.
— You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads & Patriots" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
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