Obama in Rude Denial

Original Post: The Spectator
By: The Prowler

IT'S ALL A GOP PLOT
The White House political and legislative operations were said to be livid with the announcement by several large U.S. companies that they were taking multi-million or as much as a billion dollar charges because of the new health-care law, the issue was front-and-center with key lawmakers. By last Friday, AT&T, Caterpillar, Deere & Co., and AK Steel Holding Corp. had all announced that they were taking the one-time charges on their first-quarter balance sheets. More companies were expected to make similar announcements this week.

"These are Republican CEOs who are trying to embarrass the President and Democrats in general," says a White House legislative affairs staffer. "Where do you hear about this stuff? The Wall Street Journal editorial page and conservative websites. No one else picked up on this but you guys. It's BS."

On Friday White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and Obama senior advisor Valerie Jarrett were calling the CEOs and Washington office heads of the companies that took the financial hits and attacked them for doing so. One Washington office head said that the White House calls were accusatory and "downright rude."

The companies are taking the charges because in 2013 they will lose a tax deduction on tax-free government subsidies they have had when they give retirees a Medicare Part D prescription-drug reimbursement. Many of these companies have more than 100,000 retirees each. AT&T may have more than three-quarters of a million retirees to cover.

"Most of these people [in the Administration] have never had a real job in their lives. They don't understand a thing about business, and that includes the President," says a senior lobbyist for one of the companies that announced the charge. "My CEO sat with the President over lunch with two other CEOs, and each of them tried to explain to the President what this bill would do to our companies and the economy in general. First the President didn't understand what they were talking about. Then he basically told my boss he was lying. Frankly my boss was embarrassed for him; he clearly had not been briefed and didn't know what was in the bill."

It isn't just the President who didn't understand his own proposal. Late Friday, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and Rep. Bart Stupak, chairman of the Oversight and Investigations panel, announced that they would hold hearings in late April to investigate "claims by Caterpillar, Verizon, and Deere that provisions in the new health care reform law could adversely affect their company's ability to provide health insurance to their employees."

Neither Waxman or Stupak -- who betrayed the pro-life community by negotiating for more than a week with the White House to ensure his vote on the health care bill -- had anything more than a cursory understanding of how the many sections of the bill would impact business or even individual citizens before they voted on the bill, says House Energy Democrat staff. "We had memos on these issues, but none of our people, we think, looked at them," says a staffer. "When they saw the stories last week about the charges some of the companies were taking, they were genuinely surprised and assumed that the companies were just doing this to embarrass them. They really believed this bill would immediately lower costs. They just didn't understand what they were voting on."

NOT WHAT THEY EXPECTED
So much for President Obama's promises to build better relations with America's friends and allies overseas. Just 15 months into his administration, Obama has managed to alienate most of the major European allies, this time having a State Department functionary announcing in Brussels that U.S.-EU summits will no longer be held annually, and only when there are particular issues to be decided.

State Department officials, some of whom were holdovers from the Bush Administration, say the reasoning for the U.S. to end the annual summits, which had been held since 1991, was in part due to Obama and his team's feeling " slighted" by European leaders and their staffs, such as French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, both of whom have come away less than impressed with Obama's style and substance.

During Obama's much heralded European visits last year, he and his team were met with lukewarm enthusiasm by his fellow leaders. Obama responded by, as host last November, meeting with his counterparts for only three hours and sending Vice President Joe Biden to spend the rest of the time in the summit, including the official lunch. Other than a 15-minute meeting in the morning with Merkel (which on the schedule was supposed to be a half-hour), the summit meeting, Obama had an almost open schedule on that day, with only a late-afternoon meeting with Sen. Blanche Lincoln on the agenda.

Then in February Obama announced that he would not attend a U.S.-EU Summit in Madrid, Spain, scheduled to take place in May, thus ensuring the meeting would be canceled.

The Obama Administration got off to a rocky start diplomatically when it embarrassed British Prime Minister Gordon Brown by giving him official White House presents -- U.S. formatted DVDs that could not played in Great Britain due to different formatting, for example -- that created the impression Obama didn't seem to care much for Brown. He later, in meeting Queen Elizabeth II gave her an iPod, loaded with podcasts of his major speeches.

"People may not have liked some of the Bush Administration's style, but at least President Bush came to meetings and was gracious," says a current State Department staffer. " I won't say that the Europeans are missing Bush, but they feel that President Obama just doesn't care about the 'special relationship' that has existed between American and Europe. He's made it worse, not better."

Police Chief Changes Policy Regarding High Speed Chases

Original Post: WISN

MILWAUKEE --
Milwaukee police have placed new limitations on when officers are permitted to chase suspects.

Police officers first heard about the new policy Monday.

The policy changes pursuit rules that have been in place for 20 years.

Critics believe it will make criminals much more likely to flee from police.

"Well geez, I'm just gonna take off. They can't chase me anymore," said Alderman Bob Donovan.

Donovan, the head of the Public Safety Committee, said the new policy is almost an invitation for criminals to flee from police.

"That's gonna give everyone, all the other bad guys in town, a free ride," said Donovan.

Under the new policy, police can't chase suspects unless they have probable cause to believe the suspects are involved in a violent felony.

"The bad guys will quickly be educated as to the fact that, 'All I need to do is drive away and the police officers will pull to the curb,'" said President of the Milwaukee Police Association Michael Crivello.

Agree With Police Chase Policy? The police chief didn't say why he issued the new ruling. Most believe it stems from the deaths of three innocent victims killed over New Year's Eve when their vehicles were hit by cars being chased by police. But after reviewing those fatalities, the chief said police were not to blame.

"In both instances, the tapes make clear the police exercised restraint consistent with their training," said Police Chief Ed Flynn on January 10.

Monday Flynn released this statement. "I have an obligation to make sure that the danger represented by the suspect justifies the risk of violent death. All too often it clearly does not justify that risk."

Donovan said the new rules send the wrong message and might even hurt police morale.

"We spend a fortune training these individuals. They're professionals. Let's trust them. We need to empower our officers more, not take away their powers," said Donovan.

Cuban leader applauds US health-care reform bill

Original Post: Yahoo News
By: Paul Haven

HAVANA (AP) -- It perhaps was not the endorsement President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress were looking for.

Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on Thursday declared passage of American health care reform "a miracle" and a major victory for Obama's presidency, but couldn't help chide the United States for taking so long to enact what communist Cuba achieved decades ago.

"We consider health reform to have been an important battle and a success of his (Obama's) government," Castro wrote in an essay published in state media, adding that it would strengthen the president's hand against lobbyists and "mercenaries."

But the Cuban leader also used the lengthy piece to criticize the American president for his lack of leadership on climate change and immigration reform, and for his decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, among many other things.

And he said it was remarkable that the most powerful country on earth took more than two centuries from its founding to approve something as basic as health benefits for all.

"It is really incredible that 234 years after the Declaration of Independence ... the government of that country has approved medical attention for the majority of its citizens, something that Cuba was able to do half a century ago," Castro wrote.

The longtime Cuban leader -- who ceded power to his brother Raul in 2008 -- has continued to pronounce his thoughts on world issues though frequent essays, titled "Reflections," which are published in state newspapers.

Cuba provides free health care and education to all its citizens, and heavily subsidizes food, housing, utilities and transportation, policies that have earned it global praise. The government has warned that some of those benefits are no longer sustainable given Cuba's ever-struggling economy, though it has so far not made major changes.

In recent speeches, Raul Castro has singled out medicine as an area where the government needs to be spending less, but he has not elaborated.

While Fidel Castro was initially positive about Obama, his essays have become increasingly hostile in recent months as relations between Cuba and the United States have soured. Washington has been increasingly alarmed by Cuba's treatment of political dissidents -- one of whom died in February after a long hunger strike.

Cuba was irate over the island's inclusion earlier this year on a list of countries Washington considers to be state sponsors of terrorism. Tensions have also risen following the arrest in December of a U.S. government contractor that Havana accuses of spying.

In Thursday's essay, Castro called Obama a "fanatic believer in capitalist imperialism" but also praised him as "unquestionably intelligent."

"I hope that the stupid things he sometimes says about Cuba don't cloud over that intelligence," he said.

My Comments: It seems that Obama always finds himself in good company. From his Nobel Prize for "the hope he might bring" with illustrious company such as Arafat to Fidel Castro praising him for finally catching up to Cuba. Because that's a country we wish to imitate. But why not, that appears to be the current president's agenda. To follow in Cuba's foot steps. So we can live in a wonderful Utopia like Cuba is. You know, I can't even type that with a straight face.

AT&T to Take $1 Billion Charge for Health Care

Original Post: NY Times

AT&T said Friday that it would take a $1 billion noncash accounting charge in the first quarter because of the health care overhaul and that it might cut benefits it offers to current and retired workers, The Associated Press reports.

The charge is the largest disclosed so far. Earlier this week, AK Steel, Caterpillar, Deere and Valero Energy announced similar accounting charges, saying the health care bill that President Obama signed into law on Tuesday would raise their expenses. On Friday, 3M said it would also take a charge of $85 million to $90 million.

More from The Associated Press:

All five companies are smaller than AT&T, and their combined charges are less than half of the $1 billion that AT&T is planning. The $1 billion is a third of AT&T’s most recent quarterly profit. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the company earned $3 billion on revenue of $30.9 billion.

AT&T said Friday that the charge reflected changes to how Medicare subsidies are taxed. Companies say the health care overhaul will require them to start paying taxes next year on a subsidy they receive for retiree drug coverage.

The White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said Thursday that the tax law closed a loophole.

Under the 2003 Medicare prescription drug program, companies that provide prescription drug benefits for retirees have been able to receive subsidies covering 28 percent of eligible costs. But they could deduct the entire amount they spent on these drug benefits — including the subsidies — from their taxable income.

The new law allows companies to only deduct the 72 percent they have spent.

AT&T said that it was also looking into changing the health care benefits it offers because of the law. Analysts say retirees could lose the prescription drug coverage provided by their former employers as a result of the overhaul.

So, our newest Defense program is a WoW subscription?

Well, this makes sense to me. I'm sure even as I type this, this scenario is happening.

Habib: So Afham, death to the white devil, death to the infidel?
Afham: Sure, but first I have to grind Wailing Caverns. There is some l33t gear I need there.

Feds thinking outside the box to plug intelligence gaps
Original Post: Yahoo News
By: Robert S. Boyd

WASHINGTON — Three recent events — the foiled Christmas Day bombing of a Detroit -bound airliner, the Dec. 30 assassination of seven CIA officers and contractors by a Jordanian double agent in Afghanistan and the difficulties that U.S. Marines in Marjah, Afghanistan , have encountered — all have something in common: inadequate intelligence.

To lower the odds of similar troubles in the future, the government has launched a swarm of spooky, out-of-the-box research projects known collectively as the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity.

"The intelligence community needs to place bets on high-risk, high-payoff research that might not work, (but if it did) would give us an overwhelming intelligence advantage over future adversaries," IARPA director Lisa Porter said in an interview at her sparkling new headquarters just outside Washington in College Park, Md. "We need to fundamentally change the way we do business."

Porter's boss, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair , said that IARPA's task was to be "an intellectual ferment or primordial stew out of which great things will come." He wants Porter's researchers to "generate revolutionary capabilities that will surprise our adversaries and help us avoid being surprised."

IARPA is modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency , which has conducted far-out research for the Defense Department since 1958. DARPA's many innovations include the Internet, GPS and robotic vehicles.

Founded two years ago, IARPA has contracted with about 75 university research laboratories and 50 technology companies, large and small, to work on innovative solutions to future intelligence needs. More contracts are coming soon, Porter said.

Some IARPA projects have a distinct science-fiction feel.

One program, Reynard, for example, has signed contracts with five research teams, mostly from major universities, to develop systems to observe "avatars" — animated computer images — that take part in popular "virtual world" games such as Second Life and World of Warcraft.

Such games have more than half a billion players around the globe, according to Reynard program manager Rita Bush . Players include many young Muslim men.

The idea is to study how these avatars — like those in the hit movie "Avatar" — behave and communicate with one another for insights into how real-life people in hostile cultures think and act.

IARPA officials think that analyzing avatars' behavior in a "virtual world" can produce useful insights into the nationalities, genders, approximate ages, occupations, education levels, even the ideologies of their creators in the "real world." Players also use avatars to communicate with one another.

"One of the goals of this program will be to understand how terror groups might use such virtual worlds to communicate," said V.S. Subrahmanian , the director of the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies at the University of Maryland , who isn't connected with IARPA.

"This is a laudable goal. However, it is also a major challenge," Subrahmanian said in an e-mail message. "To identify how terrorists communicate in a VW (virtual world) requires the ability to first identify which conversations are in fact legitimate or normal and which ones are suspicious. This is hard to do."

"If it weren't hard, we wouldn't be doing it," Porter said. "Failure is OK. We can learn from failure."

Another IARPA project, named ICARUS, will attempt to model the way human brains make sense of a bewildering mass of data. The ALADDIN project is meant to pick out key items in the tsunami of video images that spy agencies collect. A program called TRUST will try to help intelligence officers determine who can be trusted and who can't.

Although IARPA resembles DARPA , there are important differences. DARPA research is aimed at pressing military needs, with a timeline of a year or so. IARPA is designed to help the intelligence community solve long-range problems.

It probably will take five to seven years before the CIA , the FBI, the National Security Agency or other intelligence agencies benefit from IARPA's projects, Porter said.

The ALADDIN project is intended to help intelligence analysts cope with the thousands of video images that pour into their offices each day from unmanned aerial vehicles, on-the-ground surveillance and other sources in danger zones.

"We get way too much video," Porter said. "We have time to look at only a small portion of it. ... We want an automatic tool that looks at 100 percent of the videos and identifies things of interest."

An ALADDIN system could "automate lower-level tasks, such as detecting tiny changes in images that a human might miss or take a lot of time to detect." she said. "Machines are good at that."

The TRUST program differs radically from traditional lie detectors, or polygraphs, which measure people's heart rates and perspiration to see whether they're lying. Instead, a TRUST goal is to measure subconscious biological signals in one's own body.

"We generate signals in ourselves when we first meet people," Porter said. "There's been a lot of research on this."

Porter said a TRUST program might have helped save the CIA officers whom a Jordanian double agent betrayed and killed in Afghanistan last year.

Still another program, called Knowledge Discovery and Dissemination, might have helped detect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian bombing suspect who's alleged to have nearly caused a tragedy on Christmas Day in spite of a raft of clues, which weren't put together in time.

IARPA claims that KDD projects could improve massive databases that don't mesh well with one another, allowing key connections to go undetected.

In the Christmas bombing case, "the dots simply were not connected," Russell Travers , a deputy director at the National Counterterrorism Center, told the Senate Judiciary Committee last week at a hearing on the incident. "The U.S. government needs to improve its overall ability to piece together partial, fragmentary information from multiple collectors."

IARPA's ICARUS program will exploit the latest research by neuroscientists on how the human brain operates.

"Recent advances in our understanding of brain function ... have laid the groundwork for an ambitious new effort to understand human sense-making," according to IARPA's description of ICARUS.

For example, Juyang Weng , a Michigan State University expert on how robots learn from experience, attended an ICARUS information session in January and intends to submit a proposal to IARPA. He told the group that he's already working to develop machines that demonstrate "brain-like sense-making and reasoning."

"The subject of ICARUS is very challenging, but doable based on the latest breakthroughs," Weng said in an e-mail message. "The machine 'brain' must be autonomously developed so that it can accumulate experience from rich real-world experience."

Similarly, computer giant IBM's "Blue Brain" project aims eventually to use supercomputers to "replicate an entire brain," project director Henry Markham told a computer technology conference last year in Long Beach, Calif.

Computer scientists Robert Sloan and Gyorgy Turan , of the University of Illinois at Chicago , won a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop methods to build "common-sense knowledge bases" that can evolve as they take in new information.

Indictment: Hutaree militia planned to kill law officer, attack the funeral procession

First of all good job on finding out these terrorists. I'm trying not to be cynical in that we can call Christians extremest terrorist, but we can't Muslim. But seriously good on them for catching this radial group. I saw a phrase in this story that really shot out at me. Let's see if you can find it.

Original Post: Detroit News
By: Paul Egan and Mike Wilkinson

Detroit -- Nine members of a Lenawee County-based militia group were planning to "levy war" against the United States and "oppose by force" the nation's government, according to an indictment unsealed this morning in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

Seven of the defendants of the "Hutaree" militia appeared briefly this morning in U.S. District Court in Detroit and were ordered held without bond until Wednesday, when bond hearings will be held. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Waterstreet said he wants all the defendants held pending trial.

The five-count indictment alleges that between August 2008 and the present, the defendants were trying to use bombs and other weapons to oppose the U.S. government.

They had plans to kill a local law enforcement official and, once officers from across the country came to the funeral, to attack the funeral procession, the indictment alleges.

"This is an example of radical and extremist fringe groups which can be found throughout our society," said Andrew Arena, FBI special agent in charge. "The FBI takes such extremist groups seriously, especially those who would target innocent citizens and the law enforcement officers who protect the citizens of the United States."

The eight men and one woman are members of the Hutaree, identified as an "anti-government extremist organization" in the indictment, and each faces three to five charges, including sedition, attempts to use weapons of mass destruction, teaching/demonstrating use of explosive materials and two counts of carrying weapons in relation to a crime of violence.

The Adrian-based group has said it is training in modern combat techniques for a prophesized battle with the anti-Christ.

Accused are: David Brian Stone, 45; his wife, Tina Stone, 44; his son, Joshua Matthew Stone, 21, all three of Clayton; and his other son, David Brian Stone Jr., 19, of Adrian. Also accused are Joshua Clough, 28, of Blissfield; Michael Meeks, 40 of Manchester; Thomas Piatek, 46, of Whiting, Ind.; Kristopher Sickles, 27, of Sandusky, Ohio; and Jacob Ward, 33, of Huron, Ohio.

Federal authorities say they acted as a Lenawee County militia group called the Hutaree and viewed local, state, and federal law enforcement as the "brotherhood," their enemy, and have been preparing to engage them in armed conflict.

If convicted, the suspects could face up to life in prison, the maximum penalty on the attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. The seditious conspiracy charge carries a maximum prison term of 20 years, as does the teaching the use of explosives charge. The possession of a firearm charge carries a minimum penalty of five years in prison.

According to federal authorities, the group had identified a Michigan law enforcement officer as a potential target. Their idea was to kill that officer and when law enforcement officials from around the country came to the area for the funeral, they would attack the procession with improvised explosive devices and "explosively formed projectiles." They hoped the attack would serve as a "catalyst for a more wide-spread uprising against the government."

A scouting mission was planned for April and, if someone had stumbled upon the mission, the Hutaree decided they could be killed, according to the indictment.

It was this mission that prompted the raids, said Barbara McQuade, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.

"Because the Hutaree had planned a covert reconnaissance operation for April which had the potential of placing an unsuspecting member of the public at risk, the safety of the public and of the law enforcement community demanded intervention at this time," she said in a prepared statement.

In February, the elder David Brian Stone had tried to go to Kentucky for a so-called summit of militia groups convened by Stone. He intended to develop better communications, cooperation and coordination with the groups. However, poor weather precluded him from attending.

Before going, however, Stone solicited a person he felt could develop four anti-personnel IEDs to take with him to the summit.

Later in February, the group conducted training operations in Lenawee County to plan for the reconnaissance mission.

The indictment also says Stone had identified a law enforcement unit near his residence as a potential target, although the indictment does not say who.

Their goal was to "intimidate and demoralize law enforcement, diminishing their ranks and rendering them ineffective," according to the indictment. The group then intended to use the incident to spark a "war" against law enforcement, using bombs, ambushes and prepared fighting positions.

Donna Stone, the ex-wife of David Stone Sr., said her husband's growing radicalism was a factor in their breakup. She said the couple was married about 10 years ago and divorced about three years ago. David Stone Jr. is her son by another man and is not David Stone Sr.'s natural son, she said. Joshua Stone, who is still at large, is David Stone Sr.'s son with another woman, Donna Stone said.

"You pray as a family, you stay together as a family," Stone said. "When he got carried away, when he went from handguns to big guns, it's like, now I'm done."

Members of the self-described Christian militia were arrested in weekend raids in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.

The suspects are expected to appear in Detroit in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald A. Scheer; one may appear in court this morning in Indiana.

Mike Lackomar of Michigan-Militia.com said he heard from other militia members that the FBI targeted the Hutaree after its members made threats against Islamic organizations.

Although there had been reports the Hutaree may have targeted Muslims, there is no mention in the indictment of any threats against them.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement Sunday asking federal law enforcement officials to release more information about possible threats against Muslims.

"Given the recent sharp spike CAIR offices nationwide have observed in anti-Islam rhetoric, it would not be surprising that an extremist group would seek to turn that bigoted rhetoric into violent actions," said Nihad Awad, CAIR national executive director in Washington.


[Me] Did you catch it? That's right. weapons of mass destruction So apparently a bomb is a weapon of mass destruction when a group of Christian radicals possesses it, but not when Iraq does. Isn't that interesting. I'm not saying anything, I'm just saying....

Health-Care Reform's Major Hurdle: Doctor Shortages

You mean if you increase demand with out increasing supply there's going to be less available? I'm shocked, shocked. If only 2/3rds of Americans had spoken up against this....

Original Post: CNBC
By: Cindy Perman

The health-care reform legislation is expected to create more jobs in the health-care sector but there's one major side effect it may not cure: There may not be enough doctors to see all of the people who are now covered.

doctor

“Add another 32 million people to health-insurance rolls and … you’ll have more people getting regular checkups and routine healthcare,” said Barry Bluestone, a labor economist and professor at Northeastern University, who estimates that there will be a 10 to 20 percent increase in health-care visits to doctor’s offices and clinics as a result of the legislation.

Health care was already expected to see explosive job growth — even given the recession — due to all the aging Baby Boomers. This legislation just kicked it up a few notches.

The biggest demand will be for primary-care physicians, as well as for the nurses and staff who work in clinics and doctors’ offices, as more people come in for regular checkups and screenings — from cholesterol checks to breast exams.

Plus, there will be a bump in demand for people who work in diagnostics — from the technicians who operate the MRI and CAT-scan machines to those who process blood tests — as well as pharmacists to process the prescriptions of people who previously couldn’t afford medications.

And, along with all of that comes the need for more administrative workers, from receptionists to accountants in the back office.

That sounds like great news — job growth in an economic recovery that is dependent on job creation. But there’s one small problem — most students coming out of medical school are more inclined to go toward higher-paying specialties like cardiology and radiology, which pay two to three times what most primary-care doctors make. And, when you consider that students come out of medical school with $150,000 in debt or more, it’s a no-brainer that more of them choose the higher-paying areas of medicine.

“I don’t think it’s going to encourage enough primary-care physicians,” Dr. Robert Centor, the academic general internist at the University of Alabama School of Medicine and author of the DB’s Medical Rants blog, said of the health-care legislation.

Centor says he thinks there are three main reasons: The pay issue, plus the fact that primary-care doctors have to deal with a lot more haggling with insurance companies and the subsequent paperwork, and one prickly issue — respect. A lot of medical professionals see it as more prestigious to be a specialist rather than a primary-care doctor.

“Primary care has been denigrated over the years and too many people look down on primary care and so therefore … there’s this hidden curriculum to not go into it because it’s not as good a field,” Centor explained.

“I would argue that primary care is every bit as hard — if not harder — than radiology,” Centor said. “We need radiologists but they shouldn’t make three times as much,” he said.

Right now, 30 percent of the medical work force is made up of primary-care physicians, compared with 70 percent who become specialists, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Will health-care reform impact the quality of care? Click on the video at left.

Lawmakers were conscious of the need to offer incentives to lure more students into primary-care practices when they wrote the legislation.

“There are provisions in the bill to help increase the work force,” said Tim McBride, a health economist and assistant dean at Washington University who helped advise lawmakers while they were crafting the legislation.

The provisions include scholarships for students studying to be primary-care physicians, pediatricians, nurses and social workers, among others, as well as incentives to get them to work in underserved areas.

Specifically, the legislation increases student-loan forgiveness programs — particularly for those that choose to work in a shortage area like primary care — and offers up to 10 percent in bonuses for those who choose to go into primary care.

Plus, it calls for the creation of a special committee to study this changing landscape for primary care.

Anticipation of the health legislation has already started to push up the number of students interested in family practice: The number of medical students who chose family medicine for their residencies jumped 9.3 percent this year and the number of students choosing to go into family practice rose 3.1 percent, according to the AAFP.

“I think primary-care medicine became much more visible in the debate about health-care reform,” said Dr. Lori Heim, president of the AAFP.

However, she said more must be done to meet demand.

“If we’re going to close the primary-care physician gap, we need to graduate twice as many family physicians as we are now graduating,” she said.

“The legislation does several things to move the needle that way,” Heim explained, but said it’s not enough.

“It’s a start. It’s a platform that we need to build on," she said. The incentives “are, in and of themselves, not sufficient.”

As for those who are worried that their doctor’s office may get overcrowded, Heim said that probably won’t happen because doctors close their practice to new patients when they reach their capacity. What’s more likely, she said, is that patients who now qualify for insurance in underserved areas, often remote rural areas, may have trouble finding a doctor accepting new patients.

On the upside, if health-care reform can generate more new primary-care practices, it will actually help stimulate local economies, Heim suggested.

The addition of family-medicine practice to a community has an impact of $900,000 on that community, according to a survey by the Robert Graham Center.

The key is going to be the students.

“Just as health-care reform needs to be comprehensive, addressing the work-force issue needs to be comprehensive,” Heim said. “You have to look at medical students, training of residents and retaining physicians in practice. The strategy has to encompass all three of those components.”

“The legislation addresses each one of those components, but it doesn’t go far enough,” she said.

Centor generally supports the legislation but agrees more must be done.

“There are ways to get people excited about family medicine — this bill isn’t doing it,” he said.