MDNews - Central New York

T H E C A N D I D A C I E S O F B e n Carson, MD, and Rand Paul, MD, for the 2016 Republican presidential nomina- tion is a reminder to the historica lly minded that physicia n involvement i n A mer ica n politics dates back to the Decla ration of Independence in 1776. There were four physicians out of the 56 signers of the document that declared the new country's independence from England. O n e p h y s i c i a n s i g n e r w a s Pennsylvanian Benjamin Rush. Dr. Rush is regarded as the father of American psychiatry. Additionally, he is credited with having a major impact on the emerg- ing medical profession, as well as being an early promoter of the importance of public health and a clean environment. A socia l reformer, humanitarian and educator, Dr. Rush founded Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Dr. Ca rson , a neu rosu rgeon , a nd Dr. Paul, an ophthalmologist, were not the first physicians to seek a presidential nomination in the 21st century. Howard Dean, who received a medica l degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, wa s a ca ndidate for the Democratic nomination in 2004. Dr. Dean, a six- term governor of Vermont, served four years as chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2005–2009. Another prominent governor/physi- cian was Gov. Otis R. Bowen of Indiana, who served from 1973–1981. Dr. Bowen was a leader in the successful e•ort to pass and sign into law one of the first caps on awards for non-economic damages in medica l liability cases. Dr. Bowen w a s l a t er a pp oi nt e d S e c r e t a r y of Health and Human Services during the Reagan Administration. More tha n t wo-dozen states have adopted caps on medical liability awards. However, in other states — including New York — the influence of trial lawyers both inside and outside state legislatures, make caps a hard sell. The same goes for the nation's capital, where trial lawyers are a force too powerful to overcome. Currently, there are 17 physicians who are members of Congress: three in the Senate (including Sen. Paul) and 14 in the House of Representatives. The three physician senators are members of the Republican Party, as are 11 physician House members. According to John Sweeney, Regional Political Director for the American Medical Association, the breakdown of physicians in Congress by specialty is as follows: three family physicians, two emergency physicians, two orthopedic surgeons, two obste- tricia ns/g y necolog ists, one genera l practitioner, one gastroenterologist, one psychiatrist, one cardiothoracic surgeon, one ophthalmologist, one general sur- geon, one cardiovascular surgeon and one anesthesiologist. R epubl ic a n s i n t he Hou se h ave established the GOP Doctors Caucus for healthcare professionals. The organiza- tion is open to nurses, physicians and others in the healthcare field. One of the top priorities of the Doctors Caucus is elimination of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which was established as part of the ACA. Rep. Tom Price of Georgia maintains that, "patients, families and doctors should make medical decisions. ... The Independent Payment Advisory Board is a direct threat to quality, innovative and responsible health care for seniors." For many years, physicians in Congress, physicians across the country and physi- cian organizations across the nation led the fight to repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate, which was finally accomplished earlier this year. This brought to an end the annual battle to curb across-the-board cuts in physician reimbursement. The belief that physicians are mostly Republicans is changing, as more and more younger physicians have Democratic leanings or do not enroll in any political party. When Obamacare first emerged as an issue, many national specialty societies and the American Medical Association (AMA) supported the bill. The AMA backed Obamacare due, in part, to the organization being blamed — for more than 40 years — for opposing the passage of Medicare in 1965. The AMA's support for Obamacare created much anger in the ranks of organized medicine and caused a significant drop in membership. In the halls of Congress and on the campaign trail, Sen. Paul is well known for his independent spirit and libertarian stance. It was no surprise to learn that many years ago, he set up his own medical specialty board apart from the American Board of Medical Specialties. He's always his own man. G e ra l d N . "Je r r y " Hof f m a n w a s chief executive ocer of the Onondaga C o unt y Medi ca l S oc i et y f ro m 19 81 until his retirement on Jan . 31, 2014 . He is co-author of two books, Medica l Ma lpractice Insurance, A Legislator's View and The History of Local Medical Care, 1806-2006. ■ Physician Involvement in Politics: Nothing New BY GERALD N. "JERRY" HOFFMAN M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C EN T R A L N E W YO R K ■ 2 016 0 5 H E A LT H C A R E P E R S P E C T I V E S ❰❰❰❰❰ 0 5

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