#ocpa

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Hello. Dr. Keith smith with you again, coming to you from the Surgery Center of Oklahoma. Thank you for joining us in this video blog series.

There are lots of exciting things happening here at the Surgery Center and here in the state of Oklahoma and I’d like to pass one of the most exciting yet that has happened and give credit to those who, behind the scenes, have done so much to make this latest development come true.

First, I’d like to note that for 6 years now, we’ve had our prices online and we’ve had arrangements with individuals, with companies, with self-funded plans and we’ve saved people a lot of money over this period of time. It seemed that we got the most traction, though, in terms of the attention we were gaining, when we actually made a contract with a public entity – the County of Oklahoma County.

You know, when the taxpayers save money, that’s really a big deal. If a private business saves money, that’s not really as newsworthy. Well, the word got out that we had saved the county – Oklahoma County’s health plan, which is self-funded, a little over a million dollars in a very short, 9-month period. And people started looking at this at the state level. The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPAthink.org) is an organization, whether you live in Oklahoma or not, I would encourage you to check out, and I would encourage you to seriously consider donating to their cause.

These are people that are in the trenches, that are liberty lovers, and they’re trying to deal with policy issues that will leave us more free. The vast majority of the time, this won’t surprise you – this involves getting rid of legislation that has prohibited us from being free.

The exciting development I want to talk to you about is just such a thing. There was legislation that was attached to the State of Oklahoma state employees health plan that prevented them from dealing with outfits like mine – the Surgery Center of Oklahoma – directly. From going to get direct pricing and contracts.

The OCPA was successful in removing these eliminations with legislation. This was a huge undertaking and they deserve all the credit for this move. It is expected to potentially save the state of Oklahoma 95 million dollars.

One of reasons that I’m bringing this to your attention is that all eyes have been on this effort by OCPA. Many people wrongly have associated this effort with me, or with the Surgery Center of Oklahoma. But it really is Michael Carnuccio, Brandon Dutcher, my friend Jonathan Small and all the staff at OCPA that have been behind this effort.

It is not likely that surrounding states or other states, when they see the millions and tens of millions of dollars of savings that result, that they will be able to resist making a similar move. Congratulations to our friends at the OCPA. I would encourage you to check out their website, OCPAthink.org, and consider donating to their liberty-loving cause.

Thank you for joining us. We’ll see you next time.

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Brandon Dutcher, senior VP at the Oklahoma Council of Public affairs, sent me this Washington Examiner article by Tim Carney.  Mr. Carney assumes that his readers are familiar with King v. Burwell, a case before the Supreme Court that most agree represents a death blow to the Unaffordable Care Act.  For those who are not familiar, King v. Burwell will disallow Obamacare  subsidies to states which did not set up state exchanges.  The "law" clearly states that these subsidies will be distributed through "exchanges established by the states," making no other allowance, namely an exchange of federal origin.  Oklahoma's Attorney General Scott Pruitt has one of the leading roles in this court case, a case most agree is the last stand by states wanting nothing to do with Obamacare shoved down their throats.

If the good guys win, Obamacare will be irreparably crippled in the states (37, I think) that did not establish these exchanges.  Without these subsidies that hide the true cost of the "insurance," the premiums will be exorbitant, the individual mandate will vaporize and no penalties can be applied to "non-purchasers." 

Back to Mr. Carney.  Whose support of the King v. Burwell effort is absent?  Mr. Carney rightly ridicules the liberal rag "Mother Jones" for claiming that King v. Burwell has no merit because corporate healthcare cronies aren't supporting it. My favorite of his analogies is this one:

"If cutting defense spending is such a good idea, why is the military-industrial complex opposed?"

This is after all, the same logic used by the folks at "Mother Jones" in forming the basis of their skepticism of King v. Burwell.  Mr. Carney's humorous article unveils the cronyism that forms the basis of the Unaffordable Care Act.  For more evidence, read this report about record setting revenues at one of the nation's largest "insurance" carriers.  Cronyism like any other scheme or conspiracy survives only as long as few know the truth.  These two articles should help provide courage to those remaining skeptics to open their eyes to the true nature and purpose of Obamacare.

My friend, Brandon Dutcher, was kind enough to take two days out of his busy schedule to act as master of ceremonies at our sold out Free Market Medical Association convention recently.  While the substance of our meeting has received the highest praise, the flawless event flow was due to the efforts of Jay Kempton's team (special mention, Megan Freedman) and Brandon's vibrant command from the podium.  

On Brandon's blog (here), he relays a transcript of a radio interview about our convention with the Franklin Institute's Patrick McGuigan, a long time fan of the free market medical movement.  For a recent example of  Brandon's gift as a hard hitting writer, here is a piece he wrote for the Mises Institute called, "What the Feds and Bernie Madoff Have in Common." 

Thanks once again Brandon for all that you and your colleagues at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs do to demonstrate the wisdom of the market in all areas of the economy. 

G. Keith Smith, M.D.

www.surgerycenterok.com