Dr. Marcus, you owe me an apology.
In your letter to the editor in the April 18, 2014 issue, you stated that “…in this month’s AARP Magazine, AARP advised their members (ready for this one?) to avoid the following “unimportant” but expensive medical procedures….” A list of procedures follows.
Did you say “AARP Magazine? I took you at your word and looked at the magazine.
You intimated that I was lying. I guess you do not know the difference between a bulletin and a magazine.
My careful examination of pages 12-16 of the magazine reveals not a word of the article you erroneously quoted. Of course, after finding the article in the March Bulletin, I now can accuse you of choosing, in your confusion, to use what suits you.
You are so engrossed in your own agenda that you totally ignored the findings and recommendations made by well qualified experts. In our overly litigious society, physicians have been practicing defensive medicine to protect themselves against malpractice suits.
It suits you to play gotcha, rather than recognizing the most important points. The Affordable Care Act recognizes that waste must be curbed. If the profession will not correct itself willingly, better minds will prevail.
The bulletin did not say the tests are unimportant. It says they are often overused, and at the very least, wasteful, but, at its worst, as having dire consequences.
Changing priorities will prevent abuses. The public has to be reeducated. These tests are valuable and even lifesaving, if you have symptoms or certain risk factors.
It explains who came to such conclusions and in great detail, why.
Nowhere does the article say, “Skip it.” Typically, you oversimplify and obfuscate. If you were a physician, which you are not, although you like to say you are part of the medical profession, I would advise anyone who came in contact with you to “Skip it!, that is, “Do not, under any circumstances, take his advice!” Note the correct use of the two words you use, incorrectly. Let me explain; you turned the noun “advice” into a verb (advise).
And perhaps, if you had bothered, you would have noticed that you had misspelled my name. As for your attempts at witticism or sarcasm, let us just say that has failed.
The rest of your letter appears to be wild accusations, non sequiturs, ramblings, insults, delusions.
My advice to you is, stop talking, lest you prove that you don’t know what you are talking about. Private insurers are all free to offer coverage, competing in the market. No one has to choose a particular company, basing decisions on needs and costs and the standards set in the ACA. If someone trusts a particular insurer he will choose accordingly.
The law needs revision to include a public non profit insurance company. Read the following in AARP’s ads. “Not connected with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or the federal Medicare program.”
Esther Confino
New Hyde Park
