The Physicians for Healthcare Reform Coalition

At the end of the day we, the American people, pay for health care. Whether it is through higher taxes, higher prices, or lower wages, in one way or another, the average hard-working American shoulders this burden. Because healthcare cost are undeniably overwhelming, we must fix our broken system. To simply let the government spend more of our money on a fatally flawed system is not a solution. There must be a better way.

Physicians for Reform believes private and complex medical decisions belong in the hands of patients and their physicians, not Washington. By giving Americans more control over their own healthcare dollars, free market forces will make medicine more effective and efficient. The alternative? Without real reform, ongoing bureaucratic inefficiencies will further exacerbate the skyrocketing cost of healthcare. In the end, Washington will constrain costs with the only tools it has—onerous restrictions and rationing of care.

Goals:

• Make health insurance affordable for every American.
• Place the patient at the center of American healthcare.
• Reduce the cost of healthcare without restricting patient access.
• Reform today’s broken medical/legal system.
• Restore the patient/physician relationship.

Building a Coalition:

PFR seeks to unify patients, physicians, nurses, hospitals, and business leaders under a grassroots platform to effect real reform. Each group is essential:

• Patients – Since the days of Hippocrates the patient/physician relationship has defined western medicine. Patients trusted their doctor implicitly, sharing even the most personal details without reservation. However, under the weight of regulations, restrictions, and endless documentation, doctors now struggle to find ten minutes with each patient before they feel pressured to move on. The resulting sense of betrayal fuels much of the hostility physicians now face. We must reunite patients and physicians to restore the soul of medicine.
  
  
• Healthcare Providers – Healthcare providers now pay $28 billion each year in malpractice premiums. Facing a possible suit with every patient visit, physicians retreat behind a battery of tests and studies—sometimes unnecessarily. This only serves to further separate patient and physician. Every year defensive medicine adds $124 billion to America’s already unbridled cost of healthcare. Even more, an ever-increasing bureaucratic morass pits practitioner against patient. At times physicians must choose between federal restrictions and honoring the wishes of patients and families. Only real reform can restore the once close relationship between patient and provider.
  
  
• Business Community – Employers have watched health insurance rise 87% over the past seven years. General Motors now spends $1,600 on healthcare for each car sold—more than it spends for steel. In an age of tight profit margins, 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.