Surrounded by about 150 doctors in white lab coats in the Rose Garden today, President Obama continued his push for health care reform, thanking the doctors for their support.
“What’s most telling is that some of the people who are most supportive of reform are the very professionals who know the health care system the best, the doctors and nurses of America,” Obama said.
The doctors came from all 50 states and many represented groups, such as Doctors for America, that are campaigning for health reform by writing letters and speaking at town hall meetings. Obama thanked them for that work.
“I want to thank every single doctor who’s here, and I especially want to thank you for agreeing to fan out across the country and make the case for why reform is so desperately needed,” he said. “Nobody has more credibility with the American people on this issue than you do.”
The doctors broke into applause when he said he wanted doctors to have more time to spend with patients, when he said he was working to get loan forgiveness for doctors who practice in under-served areas, and again when he mentioned fixing the “flawed sustainable growth rate” used to pay for medical services under Medicare. They also cheered when Obama said reform would help doctors stick to the Hippocratic oath.
“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 of time on the phone with insurance companies. It was not an oath that you would have to turn away patients you know could use your help,” he said, “and not devote your lives to being bean counters, or paper pushers. You took an oath so you could help people. You did it so you can save lives.”
He did not mention the public option.
He did, however, rail against some of his opponents. “We’ve heard all the arguments on both sides of the aisle,” he said. “From the crazy claims about ‘death panels’ to misleading warnings about a government takeover of the health care system.”
