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Doctors
Call for National Health Insurance
Journal of the American Medical Association Publishes
Physicians' Proposal for National Health Insurance
Signed by 7,782 Physicians
WASHINGTON, D.C., AUGUST 11, 2003 - In an unprecedented
show of physician support for National Health Insurance
(NHI), 7,782 U.S. physicians propose single payer
NHI in an article in the August 13 issue of the Journal
of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
The "Physicians' Proposal for National Health
Insurance" was drafted by a blue ribbon panel
of leading physicians. The signers include 2 former
U.S. Surgeons General, the former Editor-in-Chief
of the New England Journal of Medicine, hundreds of
medical school professors and deans, and thousands
of practicing doctors throughout the nation. The Proposal
will be presented in D.C. at The National Press Club
on August 12 at 10am in the Murrow room.
"This is an historic moment. Today, thousands
of physicians are taking a stand on the side of patients
and repudiating the powerful insurance and drug lobbies
that block wholesome reform," said Dr. Quentin
Young, a leading Chicago physician who chaired the
Department of Medicine at Chicago's Cook County Hospital
and convened the group of prominent physicians that
drafted the proposal.
The doctors' article also critiques the health reform
plans that have been offered by President Bush and
the major Democratic presidential contenders. "Proposals
that would retain the role of private insurers - such
as calls for tax-credits, Medicaid/CHIP expansions,
and pushing more seniors into private HMO's - are
prescriptions for failure. By perpetuating administrative
waste, such proposals make universal coverage unaffordable,"
said Dr. Young.
The physicians call for national health insurance
that would cover every American for all necessary
medical care - in essence an expanded and improved
version of traditional Medicare.
1) Patients could choose to go to any doctor and
hospital. Most hospitals and clinics would remain
privately owned and operated, receiving a budget from
the NHI to cover all operating costs. Physicians could
continue to practice on a fee-for-service basis, or
receive salaries from group practices, hospitals or
clinics.
2) The program would be paid for by combining current
sources of government health spending into a single
fund with modest new taxes that would be fully offset
by reductions in premiums and out-of-pocket spending.
3) The proposed single payer NHI would save at least
$200 billion annually by eliminating the high overhead
and profits of the private, investor-owned insurance
industry and reducing spending for marketing and other
satellite services.
4) Administrative savings would fully offset the
costs of covering the uninsured as well as giving
full prescription drug coverage to all Americans.
"In the current economic climate, we can no
longer afford to waste the vast resources we do on
the administrative costs, executive salaries, and
profiteering of the private insurance system",
states Dr. Marcia Angell, Senior Lecturer in the Department
of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and
former Editor-in-Chief of the New England Journal
of Medicine. "We get too little for our money.
It's time to put those resources into real health
care- for everyone."
The physicians' call for NHI comes as rising health
costs and premiums, and the increasing number of uninsured
have stimulated a new round of health reform initiatives.
Yet most politicians have steered clear of NHI, offering
proposals for incremental reforms of the current system.
"How bad does it have to get before politicians
are willing to prescribe the major surgery our health
system needs? Premiums are skyrocketing and we already
spend twice as much per capita on health care as any
other nation. 41 million people are uninsured, and
millions more are under-insured and can't afford vital
medicines. How bad does it have to get before our
politicians admit we need national health insurance?"
asked Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, lead author of the
proposal and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard.
Contacts:
Steffie Woolhandler MD 518-794-8109
Kimberly Soenen 312-782-6006
Quentin Young MD 312-782-6006
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Physicians for a National Health Program was founded
in 1987 and includes physicians in every state and
medical specialty. For local contacts or other information,
contact PNHP's headquarters in Chicago at (312) 782-6006
or visit: www.pnhp.org.
Ida Hellander, MD
Executive Director
Physicians for a National Health Program
29 E Madison, Suite 602
Chicago, IL 60602
312.782.6006
fax 312.782.6007
www.pnhp.org
pnhp@aol.com
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