President of the Ohio State Medical Association speaks out against healthcare insurance companies

Toledo Blade

September 10, 2008

Health-care series show patients' plight

As the president of the Ohio State Medical Association, I want to thank The Blade for its recent series on the impact of health insurance on patient care. The eight-month investigation and resulting series, "Not what the doctor ordered: How health-insurance plans shape patient treatment," does a very effective job of highlighting the problems that Ohio physicians and their patients face daily.

As a physician, I see firsthand the impact that unnecessary and arbitrary insurance restrictions have on quality patient care. In fact, your articles clearly illustrate for the public something that physicians have known for decades: heavy-handed cost control measures by insurers are having a negative impact on patient care.

Physicians are sensitive to the expense side of medicine. One reason is because, as business owners, we want to provide health coverage for our own employees and their families. However, we feel the same cost pressures as any other business. One difference is that we are in a better position than most other employers to truly understand how insurance company interference is affecting the quality of patient care.

That's why the OSMA's number-one priority is reining in the abuses of the health-insurance industry. We must fight to keep medical care between the patient and the physician and prevent insurance companies from interfering with this care.

Dr. Warren F. Muth
President
Ohio State Medical Association

[From John Curry]