Doctors Calling for Health Insurance Reform

Doctors know as well as anyone that inaction on health insurance reform is no longer an option. They’ve seen first-hand what’s broken about our health care system; how, despite the fact that we spend twice as much as any industrialized nation, we aren’t any healthier for it. They’ve seen what happens when their patients’ coverage is retroactively canceled just when they need it most. The heartbreak a family endures when they can’t afford the care they need. Or the aftereffects of going too long without a regular checkup or screening. Doctors also spend far too much of their time running down forms and quibbling with insurance company bureaucrats, instead of caring for patients. One recent study found that the average physician spends 142 hours every year interacting with health plans, to the tune of $68,274 per physician per year.

For all these reasons, doctors joined President Obama at the White House this morning to join the push for health insurance reform.

Over the past week, OFA has been organizing events for health insurance reform with doctors and nurses across the country. At a “Roundtable” event in Gainesville, FL, Dr. Rob Hatch said the health care status quo is unsustainable and unacceptable. Here’s his quote from an article in the Gainesville Sun:

"It's just inexcusable. It's absolutely inexcusable and we need to do something about it. One reason our health care is so bad is that we have so many uninsured people," Hatch said.

In Albany, Georgia, about half a dozen doctors are planning to make 40,000 calls for health insurance reform. They’re talking to locals about what reform will mean for them, answering questions, debunking rumors and asking them to call on their senators and representatives to support President Obama’s plan. Here’s an excerpt from the piece on WALB News:

"I was calling to discuss health care reform with you," said Dr. Tania Smith, of Prestige Pediatrics.

Public opinion over health care reform remains divided and now these south Georgia health care professionals are weighing in. They joined forces with Organizing for America to push reform now.

"Right now people are looking for answers, they're looking for the truth about health care reform and doctors are a great place to start," said Ken King, Organizing for America.

Pediatrician Tania Smith is on the front line of this debate. While critics worry the President's plan may take decisions away from doctors, she feels insurance companies are already doing that. "As the system is going now we have a lot of people who are medically ignorant making decisions and denying claims and making insurance populations where you don't have any wellness visits included in your plan," said Smith.

As part of our multi-pronged work with doctors, we recently launched an effort asking doctors to write and send “Letters to the Editor” to their local papers to make the case for reform. Have you written a LTE to your hometown paper?