President Obama's former personal physician of 22 years, Dr. David Scheiner, has been very vocal on the issue of health insurance, particularly with his criticism of commercial insurers and how he feels they are meddling with the doctor-patient relationship.You've said in interviews that insurers are making it increasingly difficult for doctors to do their jobs. Can you give some examples? I'll give you two. I have a patient with bipolar disorder whose psychiatrist is no longer in her insurance company's panel. She is heartbroken that the insurance company won't pay to let her see the doctor. I have another patient with obvious sleep apnea. I ordered a sleep study on him. The insurance company knows he needs it but has made life miserable for him. They are making him wait to get their approval, hoping he won't bother with it. Insurance companies are making it more difficult for doctors to get preauthorization for treatments because they are hoping it will discourage people from getting expensive treatments. Insurers also tell us what hospitals we can admit patients to and what subspecialists we can refer our patients to. They are telling me how to do my job.
