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Re: A new study finds that a majority of physicians support the creation of a public
Most of his objections can be explained away by the fact that Silver is a partisan hack, but I'll humor you nonetheless.
Here's his #1 reason (and only real substantive complaint) for why the IDP/TIPP poll can't be trusted:
Sounds shady, right?
Here's how your poll from the OP was conducted:
So which is it? If mailed surveys are really that unreliable, then your poll is equally worthless. If they're actually reliable, then you must agree that Silver is simply lying to dismiss poll results that he doesn't like and that the IDB poll is as worthwhile as yours.
And most of those incredibly overbooked and wildly successful practices don't take Medicare anyways, so I doubt this will really affect them either way. Regardless, for those doctors who do accept Medicare, this will result in an increase in demand. That simple.
That IDB / TIPP is a disgrace of a poll. In no way should you take it seriously, nor put any reliance on the 'results'. Reasons why not are enumerated well in the following article, I'll only c/p the conclusion here:
Most of his objections can be explained away by the fact that Silver is a partisan hack, but I'll humor you nonetheless.
Here's his #1 reason (and only real substantive complaint) for why the IDP/TIPP poll can't be trusted:
1. The survey was conducted by mail, which is unusual. The only other mail-based poll that I'm aware of is that conducted by the Columbus Dispatch, which was associated with an average error of about 7 percentage points -- the highest of any pollster that we tested.
Sounds shady, right?
Here's how your poll from the OP was conducted:
The mailed survey was sent in three waves. The first wave included a cover letter, the survey, a stamped return envelope, and a $2 bill. Subsequent waves did not include an incentive. After each wave, physicians were called and asked to complete the survey and they were also offered the option of returning the survey by fax or email. Fielding of the first survey wave began on June 25th 2009 and all available data was analyzed on September 4th, 2009.
So which is it? If mailed surveys are really that unreliable, then your poll is equally worthless. If they're actually reliable, then you must agree that Silver is simply lying to dismiss poll results that he doesn't like and that the IDB poll is as worthwhile as yours.
I understood what you meant, but dispute your premise. Most practices cost-shift to private insurance. Looking at the prospect of possibly lower re-imbursements, they are not looking at massive revenue increases.
For most successful practices, likely the opposite. Most docs are already overbooked, utilizing PAs and RNs and popping in for only the 'meat' of appts. They are not sitting on excess, underutilized capacity in terms of patient appt scheduling.
And most of those incredibly overbooked and wildly successful practices don't take Medicare anyways, so I doubt this will really affect them either way. Regardless, for those doctors who do accept Medicare, this will result in an increase in demand. That simple.