No issue commanded so much attention throughout 2009-2010 as the
national debate on health care reform. CIR, working with other
physician organizations, was on the front lines every step of the way,
demanding that the reform proposals moving through Congress focus on
incentivizing quality of care, not just quantity of care, growing and
nurturing the physician workforce of tomorrow, particularly in the
areas of primary care and prevention, and protecting the most
vulnerable patients and families that resident physicians see every day.
As such, it was fitting that during the final few days of action in
Washington DC before health reform became law, CIR was there!
On Sunday, March 21, 2010, the House of Representatives voted on the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which had previously passed
the Senate, and sent it to the president for his signature. The very
next day, CIR, together with partner organizations ranging from Doctors
for America and the National Physicians Alliance to the American
Medical Student Association and SEIU Nurse Alliance, organized the
“Health Professionals March for Reform.” The event brought together
hundreds of physicians, nurses, medical students, health professionals,
and other reform advocates from across the country to the nation’s
capital to celebrate the passage of health care reform and urge their
senators to finish the job by passing the fixes contained in the Health
Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act.
The day began with a rally at Freedom Plaza in Washington DC, just a
few blocks from the White House. Despite the rain, then-CIR President
Dr. L. Toni Lewis and Regional Vice President Dr. Vaughn Whittaker took
their turns on the megaphone to fire up a crowd where white coats
alternated with rain coats. Shortly before noon, the health
professionals began the march from Freedom Plaza to Capitol Hill. The
imagery of so many doctors and nurses with handmade signs and jubilant
spirits marching down Pennsylvania Avenue in a rainstorm to celebrate
the passage of health care reform was dramatic enough to be used on the
homepages of Politico.com, NYTimes.com, and WashingtonPost.com, as well
as the front page of the Los Angeles Times. Additionally, the cable
networks MSNBC and CNN carried live video of the march.
 At the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, the health professionals
gathered for a press conference with elected officials inside the
Senate Hart Building. They serenaded the elected officials sharing the
stage with cheers of “Who’s got your back? We’ve got your back!”, and
applauded as Rep. Jan Shakowsky (D-IL) and Rep. Jim McDermott (DWA)
expressed their admiration and gratitude for the support that so many
physicians groups had given to reform efforts all year long. Also on
hand was Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), who for months had been on the
receiving end of phone calls, emails, and press events spearheaded by
the CIR resident physicians at the University of New Mexico. Sen.
Bingaman congratulated the representatives and pledged that the Senate
would finish the job by passing the Reconciliation Act. (The Senate did
so that same week.)
Even more movingly, Dr. Judith Palfrey, the president of the American
Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Lori Heim, the president of the American
Academy of Family Physicians, and Dr. Frederick Turton of the American
College of Physicians, took the podium to each tell the story of one
patient who had been denied coverage or care because of the abusive
practices of the private insurance industry, but who now had hope and
protection, thanks to the passage of health care reform.
The bills that became law this year will not solve every problem, and
their benefits will be phased in over a number of years. Frustrations
and problems with the American health care system will persist. But the
doctors, nurses, medical students, and advocates who had invested so
much in the fight took the day to appreciate the historic moment. |