AAFP Board Chair Makes Compelling Case for Health Care Reform

AAFP Board Chair Jim King, M.D., of Selmer, Tenn., urged Congress this week to enact health care reform legislation to avert a deepening crisis that threatens to derail the nation's health care delivery system and to curtail or deny access to care for millions of Americans.

"Family physicians cannot understand why we would ever want to continue a health care system that reduces productivity, accelerates cost increases and promotes inefficiency," said King during a packed Capitol Hill press conference on July 30 that also featured Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill.; and Sens. Patricia Murray, D-Wash., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

King described the current health care system as "fragmented, uncoordinated and duplicative," and questioned why the status quo would be acceptable to anyone.

"If we don't achieve a system that works for everybody, health care delay in this country will (lead) to a deterioration in quality," warned King, one of only two physicians to speak at the press conference.

And without reform, millions of Americans will not be able to afford what he termed "the normal, inexpensive, preventive care that saves lives and money," he added.

"Millions of other Americans will be denied coverage when they apply for health insurance because of their health status," said King. "Most businesses will be crushed by the weight of health insurance premiums that will either affect their bottom line or be passed onto their workers in (the form of ) reduced wages."

Representatives from the American College of Physicians, the American Osteopathic Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Student Association, Doctors for America and the National Physicians Alliance stood by King onstage. Together, the seven organizations represent 450,000 physicians and medical students, enough people to fill every seat in Chicago's Wrigley Field 11 times over, King pointed out.

"Can you imagine 11 Wrigley Fields, full of doctors who demand reform?" he asked.

King and the representatives from the other organizations met with the four senators in Reid's office before the press conference and handed each of them a letter re-emphasizing support for health care reform.

"Americans need affordable choices and stable coverage," the letter says. "Not passing health care reform will result in continued rising costs, poorer quality of care and more people uninsured."

"We are confident that the reforms being proposed will allow us to provide better quality care to our patients, while preserving patient choice of plan and doctor," the letter also states.

During the press conference, King said, "We are too close to achieving health care reform to stop now."

"Achieving this will benefit all Americans," he said. "We have a rare opportunity to reshape health care in this country and to provide primary care that prevents costly illness."

King also pointed out that the AAFP, in cooperation with the Herndon Alliance, has launched a Web-based video production, known as Heal Health Care Now, that features nine family physicians describing their experiences with the current health care system and calling for health care reform.

The senators said the presence of the AAFP and the other physician groups at the press conference speaks volumes about the need for health care reform.

"For the past weeks and months, you have heard from countless people talking -- many senators, many House members, advocates and critics," said Reid. "But few know the perilous state of our health care system like physicians."

"Our doctors' orders are very, very clear," Reid added. "If we don't start taking better care of our health care system, it is only going to get worse."

Both Reid and Schumer predicted that Congress would pass health care legislation by the end of this year. Meanwhile, Murray, who also is a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said the committee has taken the lead in health care reform by recently approving the Affordable Health Choices Act.

That legislation contains a "very important section on preventive health care," a first step in turning the system around to focus on prevention, Murray said.

The legislation also addresses workforce issues, providing scholarships and loans to encourage medical students to pursue careers in primary care and family medicine. "We need to have incentives to get primary care physicians -- family physicians -- into the field," said Murray.