Posted: January 4, 2010

Keith Newby Sr. MD
President,
Cardiology & Arrhythmia Consultants Inc.
 
Newby received a degree in biology from Norfolk State University and a medical doctorate from Eastern Virginia Medical School. He completed his internship and residency at Emory University School of Medicine, and a fellowship in clinical training in cardiology with emphasis in invasive electrophysiology at Duke University Medical Center. He is board-certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease and clinical cardiac electrophysiology.
 
What is one aspect of the current system that works well and shouldn’t be changed?

The ability to choose your physician and the ability to choose different insurance plans based on the services provided.
 
What is the biggest problem with the current system in need of change?

1. The cost of insurance plans, which only seem to foster salaries for executives. I should not be asked to curb my care of a patient by cutting costs and services in order to improve an insurance company’s bottom line to pay their executives more. We all should take a cut to improve costs.
 
2. [We should] eliminate the doughnut hole theory as it relates to acquiring medications. It doesn’t work and people need access to their meds at affordable prices.
 
3. [We should] cut the cost of medical school to allow more qualified people to become doctors without hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt by the time they are done, which their salaries in primary care will not allow them to pay back.
 
4. [We should] possibly allow tax breaks for those delivering care to the uninsured to compensate for overhead required for caring for those patients.
 
5. [We should] hold patients more accountable for their health care. If they are markedly overweight, causing a significant number of chronic illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes or heart disease, they should have access to and be mandated to participate in a weight-loss program and also pay higher premiums. Those who live healthy [lifestyles] should have lower premiums. Also, if patients have hypertension, diabetes or another chronic illness and do not want to take their meds for no clear reason, they should have consequences such as higher premiums. They should not be allowed to pass the cost of their noncompliance to others.