Our Coalition:

By itself, no one group can achieve the repeal of Obamacare and have it replaced it with patient-centered, fiscally responsible reforms. Change of this magnitude will require the alliance of at least three key groups. Our coalition consists of:

    •  Patients
     •  Physicians
     •  Business Owners

Given our nation’s massive debt, We the People must come together and find a way to constrain government spending. Given our high unemployment, America must reduce the cost of healthcare to make American businesses competitive in the global economy. However, we must accomplish both of these goals in a way that keeps patients and physicians at the center of American healthcare.

Physicians for Reform has outlined such a patient-centered, fiscally responsible plan in considerable detail. Taking this message straight to the American public represents our best chance of getting the political class to follow.

 

Goals

    •  Make health insurance affordable for every American.
     • Place patients and physicians at the center of American healthcare. 
     •  Reduce the cost of healthcare without restricting access to care.
     • Restore the patient / physician relationship.

 

• Patients

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) fundamentally alters what it means to be a physician. Even more, it changes what it means to be a patient.

For example, Section 3007 of the PPACA gives the Secretary of HHS extraordinary power to review physicians’ medical decision-making, Even more, it grants the Secretary power to financially punish physicians who do not comply with the “cost effectiveness” standards set by the Secretary. Physicians who do not comply risk being regulated out of private practice.

Government compassion sounds so noble. However, whoever pays holds the power to choose. The most profound risk for patients under the PPACA is that this legislation divides physician loyalties. The Secretary of HHS now holds the power to compel physicians to place the financial welfare of the State ahead of the physical and emotional wellbeing of their patients.

Patients must stand along with physicians if America is to reverse course, repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and then replace it with patient-centered, fiscally responsible reform.

In many respects, the future of American healthcare lies in the hands of patients. Most politicians do not care about physicians. Many politicians do not really care about healthcare policy. However, every politician cares about voters. And patients vote.

 

• Physicians

Since the days of Hippocrates the patient / physician relationship has served as the foundation of western medicine. Patients trusted their doctor implicitly, sharing even the most personal details without reservation.

Because of the special role physicians serve in American culture, the public still trusts the average, working physician more than any other voice when it comes to healthcare reform. A Gallop Poll taken at the beginning of the healthcare debate demonstrates this point:

 

 

Physicians for Reform believes private and complex medical decisions belong in the hands of patients and their physicians, not insurance companies or Washington. By giving Americans more control over their own healthcare dollars, free market forces will push medicine toward effectiveness and efficiency.

The alternative? Without real reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will exacerbate the skyrocketing cost of healthcare and crush patient and physician autonomy. In the end, Washington will constrain costs with the only tools it has—onerous restrictions and rationing of care.

 

• Business Community

Employers have watched health insurance skyrocket over the past two decades. Healthcare costs now represent one of the primary concerns of the American business community. In an age of tight profit margins and financial uncertainty, businesses must either limit healthcare coverage for their employees or make cuts in other areas.

By joining physicians in calling for needed reforms, the business community can help reduce the cost of healthcare and once again find its own competitive edge in an age of intense global competition.