FP Report -- 1999 Post-Assembly Edition
White House event on health policy features talk by outgoing AAFP president
Outgoing President Lanny Copeland, M.D., of Albany, Ga., was one of three speakers at a White House event on health policy Sept. 8. He shared the podium with President Bill Clinton and Donna Shalala, Ph.D., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Copeland won applause from reporters and others at the White House when he said, "Communication between physicians and patients should never be restricted by health plan gag clauses. If I can't talk to my patients about their options, that's bad medicine!"
He added, "I took a solemn oath when I started practicing medicine to put my patients' interests first, and I believe in that oath. Health plans should not second-guess my expertise by capriciously denying appropriate medical care."
Referring to Medicare, Copeland said, "As we make the program financially secure, we can add other benefits in a fiscally responsible way -- benefits like prescription drug coverage. I do not want to keep worrying about patients who never have their prescriptions filled because they cannot afford to."
Copeland's words won praise from President Bill Clinton. Clinton said he has tried to bring people to the White House who have firsthand experience with the problems facing many Americans -- to bring more of America to Washington, D.C. "Dr. Copeland, I don't think anybody's ever done a better job than you have of bringing here the health care challenges of ordinary people from all walks of life on a day-to-day basis," Clinton said.
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department. Copyright © 1999 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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