FPs Talk About Health Care Reform, Impact on Patient Care in New Video

In any political debate, often the individual voice is the most powerful. Now the individual voices of family physicians are being heard in a new video about health care reform that is part of a Web-based initiative developed by the AAFP and the Herndon Alliance.

Heal Health Care Now is a call to action to the American public to let Congress know they stand behind nearly a half million doctors who are calling for health care reform. The Web site includes the video of family physicians speaking out about the broken health care system and the importance of reform, particularly as it relates to the care of their patients.

"I spend 40 percent of my time away from my patients doing paperwork and getting prior authorizations," says AAFP Board Chair Jim King, M.D., of Selmer, Tenn., in the video, which Brave New Films produced. "We need to start taking the barriers that are between me and my patients away."

"Medicine now has been shifted, and it's really more about insurance companies and rules that aren't fair. It's no longer about the patient and the doctors," says AAFP President-elect Lori Heim, M.D., of Vass, N.C., in the video. "If we had health care reform, what our patients are going to see is an increase in their quality, affordability and access of care."

"Health care reform will be life-changing for me and my patients," says Felix Aguilar, M.D., M.P.H., of Los Angeles, in the video.

According to AAFP President Ted Epperly, M.D., of Boise, Idaho, the AAFP wanted to develop the video and the initiative to counter anti-health care reform arguments that are popping up and to educate the public about health care reform from the FP perspective. "We wanted to take the message (about health care reform) from America's family physicians directly to the public," said Epperly in an interview with AAFP News Now. "National health care reform will help America's FPs ensure that they provide the type of health care needed for their patients."

In addition to the video, the Heal Health Care Now Web site provides easy access for visitors to contact their legislators to encourage them to support health care reform bills, and it contains a letter from seven medical professional organizations (1-page PDF; About PDFs) that together represent more than 400,000 physicians and medical students.

"Everyday, we are on the frontlines of health care, and know that we must ensure everyone in our communities, including working people, parents and children, all have a real choice of plans and doctors, affordable care, and access to necessary medical services. Health care reform will help physicians provide better care for their patients, throughout the nation," says the letter to members of the Senate from the AAFP, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Student Association, the American Osteopathic Association, Doctors for America and the National Physicians Alliance.

"We want you -- Congress -- and the administration, and the American people to know that we believe, in the best interest of our patients and this nation, we must pass strong and effective health care reform in 2009," the organizations write in the letter.