Life with a New PT Grad : PT News

Patient Advocacy

Lisa Catenacci — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:04:00 GMT

This week in my Clinical Decision Making course we were asked to write a letter of advocacy to our senator and assemblyman/woman. While I don't consider myself much of a political advocate, I understand the importance of working towards better health care for our patients. I also think it's important for those politicians to know how their votes affect health care on an everyday basis. Not surprisingly, I decided to write on behalf of student loan forgiveness--a topic near and dear to my heart.

While I followed the election closely and believe every voter should make educated choices in who they vote for- I have virtually no idea what to do in terms of contacting a politician. It's like a foreign country and I don't know the language or who the person is to talk to. With so many titles and names and commercials, the whole scene gets blurry. Thankfully my professors explained the process of contacting your senator--and all the steps necessary to get in touch with them.

Basically, you need to find your senator's address online. The APTA has a nice section of government affairs, the bills involved in each section, and which politicians have already co-sponsored the bill. This way, if your senator already supports the bill you are concerned with, you don't have to waste time writing to them about it. It's a very easy process!

Some of my classmates wrote about direct access, Medicare caps, or other personal experiences that have affected the delivery of quality PT to a variety of patients. One point of writing an advocacy letter is to remember that the issue should have an element of mass appeal. Also, keep the letter short and concise. Be clear in your position and ask for some sort of response.

Have you ever contacted a senator in regards to PT? What happened?

Presidential Candidates and Health Care

Lisa Catenacci — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:56:00 GMT

Election year means a time of change. Change can be a great thing, especially in terms of health care, health insurance and many other factors impacting the PT field. One of my professors brought this topic up, so I thought a blog forum is a great opportunity to discuss the leading candidates and their stance on health care issues. (Got a lot of free time? Flip through the book Redefining Health Care by Michael Porter and Elizabeth Olmsted.)

Barack Obama's Plan

Obama has laid out an outline for a new national health plan, which includes: guaranteed eligibility, comprehensive benefits, simplified paperwork, easy enrollment, choice, quality and efficiency. Furthermore, Obama's plan includes a National Health Insurance Exchange for people who wish to purchase a private insurance plan.

Obama's Website says he plans to "lower costs by modernizing the U.S. Health Care System." This includes reducing costs of illnesses, helping patients (there are many details here), ensuring providers deliver quality care, lowering costs by increasing competition in the insurance and drug markets, etc.

John McCain's Plan

John McCain believes the key to health care reform is to restore control to the patients themselves, making it easier for individuals and families to obtain insurance. His reforms include the tax code to offer more choices beyond employer-based health insurance coverage and making insurance more portable (from job-to-job). John McCain encourages expanding the benefits of health savings accounts (HSAs) for families.

In terms of lowering health care costs, McCain lists these details: lowering drug prices, providing quality/cheaper care for chronic disease, promoting coordinated care, expanding access to health care, greater use of IT to reduce costs, etc.

My take on this: I like the idea of HSA in McCain's plan, something Michael Porter also supported in his book. It's interesting that Obama remarks on lowering costs by increasing competition, but he doesn't include competition between health care providers-which is where the high cost problems were initiated! (Michael Porter's book discusses competition between providers to lower costs.) Obama's national health care plan scares me a bit, because I don't want to see our country's health care plan turn into a universal health care nightmare, although I do like his plan to simplify paperwork and make enrollments easier.

What do you think? How will this change how you vote?

Student Debt

Lisa Catenacci — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:29:00 GMT

Well, with all the news floating around the APTA's Website and in my email inbox, obviously the topic of choice this week is President W. signing the HR 4137 bill. Details? "HR 4137 allows physical therapists who provide care to children, adolescents, and veterans to be eligible for up to $10,000 over 5 years in authorized student loan repayment programs." (http://www.apta.org/). I'm very excited to see the new bill has been passed. $10K is a huge help.

Since I don't like to depress myself, I don't often calculate my overwhelming total debt. Six years of schooling at a private school? Come on, you do the math. If I was in charge of the world, every PT job would come with student loan repayment programs. My lucky employer would match every dollar I paid toward my countless loans. (I may be too much of a dreamer.)

Sometimes I feel a little trapped in moving into the real world. Debt to pay off, determining the best job for me, picking a town to settle down in, etc. Ahh! It's a lot to think about, but it's also a very exciting time. (You know, exciting like when you owe the government more money than you can even comprehend.) Either way, my husband and I have dreams like everyone else: to buy a house, move back home, start a family. I can hardly imagine it all being possible with as much debt as I have.

It's a little reassuring to hear that many of my classmates are in the same boat. Together we got into debt, and together we'll get out....one slow payment after another....