Health Insurance Reform Mythbuster: 'The Medical Community Does Not Support Health Insurance Reform'
MYTH: Doctors, nurses and others in the medical community don't support health insurance reform.
FACT: National polls, endorsements by top health care professional groups, and yesterday's event with President Obama and doctors from around the country have illustrated there is widespread and strong support among medical professionals for health insurance reform.
Hear from some of the doctors at yesterday's event about why health insurance reform is so vital to them and the patients they care for across the country:
Rebecca J. Patchin, MD, Board Chair of the American Medical Association:
Our nation has an historic opportunity for health reform this year...Physicians see firsthand the problems in our health system, and through health reform we can improve the system so that it works for patients and physicians. Every American should have affordable, high-quality health coverage that can't be taken away if you get sick or lose your job. Without coverage, people don't get the preventive care that can catch diseases early before they become difficult and costly to treat.
Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA, President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:
There should be no confusion about where doctors stand in the debate over expanding health insurance coverage: they want reform.
Rebecca Patton, MSN, RN, CNOR, President of the American Nurses Association:
As nurses, every day we see firsthand the heartbreaking consequences of our nation's flawed system. We see patients in danger when they can't access or afford the care they need. We hold a patient's hand when they learn their health insurance coverage has been denied or canceled. As nurses, we should no longer bear witness and share the needless suffering of the patients we serve due to the cost of inaction ... Nurses are the most trusted healthcare profession. Let's use our ability to influence people by talking about the truth.
A recent poll of physicians by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found 73 percent of doctors across the country support health reform that includes both a public and private health insurance option:
Just some of the organizations and associations representing members of the medical community who support the principles found in America's Affordable Health Choices Act:
American Medical AssociationAmerican Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Pediatrics
American College of Physicians
American Association of Occupational Health Nurses
National Association of Children's Hospitals