Among Doctors, Many Opinions on Health Care Reform

JIM LEHRER:

Now, doctors' views on health reform. The president invited some 150 doctors to the White House Rose Garden today, complete with their white coats, as part of his push for health care reform. They came from all 50 states, and those in attendance were generally supportive. Here is some of what he said to them.

U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:

Every one of you here today took an oath when you entered the medical profession. It was not an oath that you would spend a lot time on the phone with insurance companies.

It was not an oath that you would have to turn away patients who you know could use your help. You did not devote your lives to be bean-counters or paper-pushers. You took an oath so that you could heal people. You did it so you could save lives.

The reforms we're proposing to our health care system will help you live up to that oath. They will make sure …They will make sure that neither some government bureaucrat or insurance company bureaucrat gets between a patient and their doctor. They'll offer security to those Americans who have insurance and insurance to those who don't.

JIM LEHRER:

Judy Woodruff takes up the discussion from there.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

And we get a small sampling of doctors' opinions. Dr. Hershey Garner is an oncologist in northwest Arkansas where he treats cancer and hospice patients. He's also a member of Doctors for America, a nonprofit group that backs the president. He met with him today.

And Dr. Donald Palmisano is with the Coalition to Protect Patient Rights, representing physicians opposed to current legislation. He's a former president of the American Medical Association, but his views do not reflect the position of the AMA, which is broadly supportive of reform.

Both doctors, we appreciate your being with us.

Dr. Garner, I'm going to start with you. We saw you standing right next to the president in that clip just a moment ago. Tell us fundamentally why you think it's important to reform health care.

DR. HERSHEY GARNER, Doctors for America: Well, it's a system that's broken, and it seems to be more broken now than it was 20 years ago when I started doing this. I heard a lot in August about what a terrible thing it would be if we reformed health care and how we'd be putting government between the doctors and the patients. And that has not been my experience at all.

I have patients that can't get the care they need. They can't get the studies they need, procedures. And what I've seen is that my Medicare patients, I can get studies, I can send them to specialists, I can get procedures I need done. It's my insurance patients that I can't get things done. So instead of this mythical government bureaucrat, I have an insurance clerk standing between me and my patient.

And then I heard so much misinformation and fear and anger in the debate in the summer that just prompted me to get involved and at least try to have some sort of civil dialogue about what the critical issues are and to try to help patients.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

Dr. Palmisano, hearing that, how are you opposed to health care reform as the president and many Democrats want it?

DR. DONALD PALMISANO, Coalition to Protect Patient Rights: Well, we certainly believe there need to be changes in the current health delivery system. We think medical care here is the best in the world, but we believe that Congress ought to slow down, they're doing this too fast, and they ought to look at a method that puts the patient in control with the physician as trusted adviser.

As far as the insurance companies, we have some problems with the insurance companies. And those who have so much power in one state, we ought to fix that by allowing people to buy across state lines. We ought to put people in the control of their policy by allowing them to own the policy, give them tax credits, get people off of the system of Medicaid, give them the opportunity to buy an array of insurance choices amongst the insurance companies like the Federal Employees Health Benefit program.

What happens with the government plan is that the government sets the rules of the game. They are the referee in this football game. And at the last minute, they can change the goalpost when you try to kick a field goal, and they will run the private insurers out.