Mount Pleasant doctors react to Snyder’s planned reforms to dental care, autism therapy coverage

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Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposed health care reform plan has generated a strong reaction from Mount Pleasant health professionals.

The governor’s plan includes efforts to enforce healthier lifestyles and put a ban on smoking at public beaches.

“The increasing cost of health care is one of the most significant economic challenges facing Michigan and the United States,” Snyder said in a previously published report.

Snyder is requesting all pediatricians calculate and report to the state the body mass index (BMI) of every child patient.

Dr. Rumana Barodawalla disagrees with Snyder’s request of reporting BMI.

“Testing BMI is not the best way to define obesity,” Barodawalla said. “There is no true scientific evidence proving that BMI proves obesity, because it doesn’t tell the difference between fat mass and muscle mass.”

Barodawalla said the BMI testing failed in Arkansas, Maine and Maryland.

“I think we need to focus more on promoting healthy procedures and establish in children early on to move a lot more and eat more nutritious food,” she said.

The ban on smoking on public beaches is a policy Barodawalla does agree with.

“I am highly, highly in favor,” she said.

She said communities that pass laws cutting out smoking have seen a decrease in heart attacks by 17 percent after the first year of implementation, according to the Journal of American Heart Association.

Snyder is now requiring insurance companies to pay for autism therapies for children up to the age of 18 and a maximum of $50,000 a year. Barodawalla said this will be beneficial to Michigan residents impacted by autism.

“One out of every 110 born have (an) autism spectrum disorder,” she said. “Right now, a lot of parents pay out-of-pocket for therapy.”

Twenty-six states cover the insurance costs for autism therapies and Michigan is one of the top 10 worst states for children with autism, Barodawalla said.

She said providing therapy and early intervention will improve independence, and people will be better off in the long run.

Snyder’s focus on expanding dental care for low-income children has Mount Pleasant’s Dr. Norman Dzingle, feeling strongly.

He said Michigan needs tort reform.

“Everyone cries medical is too high and feels bad for the poor people,” he said. “But the poor people would be the first to sue me.”

Dzingle said Michigan needs to follow Cleveland’s lead and offer a malpractice-free zone.

“Many people are willing to help the poor, but we don’t want to get sued if something goes wrong,” he said.

Snyder also looks to launch efforts to decrease infant mortality and teen pregnancies, and to improve the health of adults and senior citizens.

Dzingle said all children should be taken care of, but it shouldn’t be at the cost of taxpayers.

“Forty-seven percent of people don’t pay taxes at all in Michigan,” he said. “If my taxes go up any more, I am laying off people in my office.”