Doctors Say Health Care Reform Bill is Wrong Prescription

By Jacqueline Sit, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Representative Mary Fallin heard from many Oklahoma doctors unfavorably weighing in on the controversial healthcare reform bill at a town hall meeting Saturday.

Doctors at the town hall meeting said they are not pleased with the bill and that their biggest fears were the cost of the plan and patient doctor relations.

"There are sick people out there that need us. We want to get them healthier. We want to make Oklahoma a healthier state and there are things that we can do, but I hope that they'll listen to physicians and the ideas that we have. It's not just about money but it's about making the system that we have better," said Kent King, Oklahoma State Medical Association president.

Many doctors objected to the 1,100 page health care reform bill largely because the bill does not include tort reform.

"I think the tort reform is very important to help the doctors or encourage younger physicians to go into medical service," said Dr. Renee Roy, who is against the proposed health care reform bill.

Roy was recruited from Canada to meet the physician shortage in the U.S. and said she knows all too well how this proposed bill could have an impact.

"My biggest fear is that it'll increase the cost because of the administration, and the quality of care might go down because of the lack of manpower that you will have," Roy said.

Roy also said she thinks the current proposed bill has been a bit misleading to the public.

"We're trying to organize a system that's public. People thinks it's free, but in reality it's your tax that's going to pay for that. It's not just the company but each individual will be taxed more," she said.

The consensus among members of the Oklahoma State Medical Association was that they will not be in favor of the bill, but the American Medical Association has backed the healthcare reform.

Representative Mary Fallin said she thinks House Bill 3200 is the wrong prescription for health care reform in our nation and does not support a single payer healthcare system.

"I don't believe in it. I won't support that, but I will push for healthcare reform because we have to lower our health care costs in our nation. We have to create better care," Fallin said.

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