The AMA's support for government run healthcare "reform" appears to be a sweetheart deal with the Administration to protect its coding and business revenue under the guise of standing up for physicians and patients. Patients hear about the AMA support and think it speaks for all doctors. They do not realize the AMA represents only about 17% of practicing physicians, or that AMA membership has been steadily declining as physicians feel the AMA no longer shares their concerns about patient care.

Recent polls report that 66% of physicians oppose the House and Senate proposals that will fundamentally change the practice of American medicine, create another boondoggle, and cause massive budget deficits. Physicians know too well the restrictions on care and delays in government-run programs like the Indian Health Service and the VA. They feel that a massive government takeover of healthcare will drastically lower quality of care and choice of treatments and specialists, especially for the elderly.

In another recent poll, 45% of responding physicians said they would retire early or resign from medicine rather than participate in a government-run healthcare system. Think about it. Loss of nearly half of our physician supply would drastically alter both access and quality of care for all patients, regardless of what "insurance" you have!

Most physicians agree that some health insurance reform is needed to provide affordable coverage for those with pre-existing conditions and those who are between jobs. These problems affect about 5% of the American people, and can be rapidly and simply fixed with changes to existing state and federal regulations. We do NOT need a massive government takeover. The current Democratic proposals being forced on everyone threaten the very innovations and state-of-the-art services that have made American medicine the best in the world.

We do not have a "health care crisis." American patients receive excellent care with cutting edge diagnostics and treatment. Even those without health insurance receive excellent care - though their reliance on Emergency Rooms for primary care drives up overall costs to taxpayers. This problem is fixable with free-market solutions, but such solutions have been blocked by Democrats' total focus on government-controlled healthcare.

The majority of patients do not want the government telling them and their doctors what type of care they can have. The majority of physicians do not want the government telling them how to practice medicine, and destroy the very hallmark of the Hippocratic Oath: to do to the best of our ability and judgment those treatments that are in the best interest of our patients.

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