CIR and Allies Rally in Philadelphia for a "More Perfect Health Care System"

In conjunction with the annual national convention in Philadelphia, CIR leaders from around the country held a press conference on May 15, 2009 steps away from Independence Hall to call for “a more perfect health care system.”

Brandishing historical “Betsy Ross” and “Don’t Tread on Me” flags, resident physicians and other doctors, medical students and health care workers shared their experiences with a failing health care system and called for comprehensive reform.

“It’s appropriate that we’re here in Philadelphia, just feet away from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall,” said CIR President Dr. L Toni Lewis, who kicked off the event. “Just as the signers of the Constitution, which included two medical doctors, came together in this city 222 years ago to come to begin to build a more perfect union, we are here to put forth our vision of a more perfect health care system, one where quality health care is not a privilege for some, but a right for all.”

Press conference speaker Courtney Scrubbs, a student at Pennsylvania College of Osteopathic Medicine and national vice president of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA), stressed that health care reform must include initiatives to eliminate racial and socioeconomic disparities. Dr. Brian Hurley, president of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), called for a strong investment in the healthcare workforce of tomorrow by helping reduce medical student debt and making it easier for doctors to go into primary care.

Dr. Barry Leibowitz of Doctors Council/SEIU Healthcare got the crowd fired up with a full-throated call for more emphasis on preventive medicine, and Dr. Valerie Arkoosh, President-elect of the National Physicians Alliance called for an end to the monopoly of private insurance through a public health insurance option.

At the conclusion, CIR leaders presented a formal statement of their principles to representatives for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) who plays a key role on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Rep. Chakah Fattah of the 2nd Pennsylvania District (including Philadelphia.) 

Watch a video of the press conference for a "More Perfect Health Care System" below: