Is There A Doctor In The House? More Physicians Eye Congress
12/18/2009

By SEAN HIGGINS, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY

Dr. Scott DesJarlais used to chat with his patients about sports and fishing during their visits. These days, he is likelier to talk politics.
"People are stressed out," the Jasper, Tenn., physician told IBD.

Their concerns include the economy, the country's mounting debt and what may happen to their health coverage should Congress pass its overhaul bill, he says.

As patients turned to DesJarlais for answers on health care, he decided to do more than talk. He's running for the 2010 Republican nomination in Tennessee's 4th District.

DesJarlais is one of more than a dozen practicing medical doctors running for Congress in 2010. Most are running as Republicans. The GOP views them as appealing candidates and as a counterweight to Democrats on health care.

After all, who better to explain why the health care overhaul is a bad idea than the family doctor?

"It's a funnel into socialized medicine," said DesJarlais, arguing that you cannot expand coverage and access in the way the Democrats want "without diluting the care and rationing the care."

The GOP roster for 2010 House races includes at least seven doctors. Many are military veterans as well. Rand Paul, an eye surgeon and son of Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is making a Senate bid in Kentucky. Congress has 16 doctors from various fields now serving. Most are Republicans.

Polls show the public is getting increasingly anxious about a medical overhaul.

A recent Washington Post poll found that people disapprove, 53%-44%, of how President Obama is handling health care.

The survey also found the public opposes, 51%-44%, the Democrats' bill. By 53%-33% they believe it would hike the cost of their care.

Blake Curd, a Sioux Falls, S.D., doctor who hopes to replace Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., has stressed those anxieties in his pitch.

Democrats would try to "insert government in the personal and private relationships between ourselves and our doctors (and) dictate what health insurance we must have."

Andy Harris, an anesthesiologist making a second bid as a Republican for Maryland's first congressional district in 2010, says the Capitol Hill debate has doctors at wit's end.

"A lot of physicians are really small businessmen, so they have all of the ordinary frustrations of running a small business," Harris said.

On top of that, he says the health care debate has made it hard for doctors to plan even for the near term.

"Physicians don't know how much Medicare is going to pay them next year," said Harris, a Maryland state senator. He noted that scheduled cuts to Medicare could cost him 21% of his income.

Congress is likely to block those annual automatic cuts again, perhaps permanently.

GOP doctors such as Harris argue that most lawmakers - the majority of whom are lawyers - just do not understand how health care works. Following the debate in Washington has left them frustrated and angry.

Others feel they're being scapegoated, especially when reformers target unnecessary procedures and waste.

Another reason for the newfound political activity was the American Medical Association's endorsement of the Democrats' bill. That let the majority party claim that the nation's doctors were backing it.

DesJarlais says he quit the AMA in protest. "We were being misrepresented," he fumed, arguing the organization was merely trying to curry favor in Washington.

Joe Heck, a Nevada emergency room doctor and former state senator and Iraq veteran, was recruited by the National Republican Congressional Committee to run for his state's 3rd District.

Heck says he got involved in part because he fears the health bill will drive many fellow doctors to retire.

"They're saying, 'We're done. It makes no sense for us to stay in practice.' And if you're forcing good physicians out you cannot increase access to health care," he said.

A recent IBD/TIPP Poll found that 45% of doctors surveyed would consider quitting or retiring early if Democratic proposals became law.

GOP operatives say such concerns have made it easier for them to recruit doctors, many of whom believe they are in the cross hairs.

Other GOP candidates include: Nan Hayworth, an ophthalmologist making a bid for New York's 19th District; Larry Bucshon, a surgeon running for Indiana's 8th District; and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, an ophthalmologist vying for Iowa's 2nd District.

Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., a heart doctor, says doctor-lawmakers can play a vital role in policy.

"Health care is one-sixth of the economy and physicians have a unique insight into how health care works," Boustany said. "They would be able to contribute ... on how we get costs down without hurting quality of care."

There hasn't been a coordinated effort to reach out just to doctors, says an NRCC source. But the party has kept an eye out for them. "They are leaders in the community and they have a built-in grass-roots network through their patients," the source said. Many can also self-fund their campaigns, another plus.

Outreach has been bolstered by lawmakers such as Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., and Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., both doctors.

Price also chairs the NRCC's Physicians' Council for Responsible Reform, which raises funds from doctors who oppose the Democrats' agenda. Boustany is co-chairman. It has signed up at least 6,000 donors to date.

Getting elected would mean drastically curtailing their practices. The doctors would have limited time and under House rules be forced to work essentially pro bono. But candidates such as Curd view it as a fair trade-off for the bully pulpit.

"One of the things that doctors are supposed to do is educate their patients," Curd said.