Million Med March on Washington

Physicians are talking about a Million Med March on Washington to be held at noon Thursday, October 1, 2009.

"I'm tired, mad as hell and just not going to take it any more," says Richard Chudacoff, MD, a gynecologist from Las Vegas. "I am going to Washington, DC, at noon on Thursday, October 1, 2009, I will be on the Mall with a few other physicians."

Dr. Chudacoff, along with other medical professionals, wants to show Obama, the members of Congress and the country that physicians are worth more then a mere $5.00 co-pay; that physicians are more important than a mid-level health care worker; that their profession is needed and their services are required, and their practice is a calling to be respected, not a trade that is to be negotiated to the lowest bidder.

An anesthesiologist said; "Politicians and payers have turned our profession into a political football."

Obama's recent tonsillectomy remark, in which he insinuated that doctors make medical decisions based on what they would be paid for a procedure rather then the best treatment for the patient, has further angered physicians.

Those that will making the march are MANDATING the following:

All Services must be adequately reimbursed so that physicians can spend more time with their patients and not be forced to see and unsafe number of patients to pay for increased business costs.

Less money must go into the hands of insurance companies' administrative costs, and more money must go toward patient care and medical research.

We must abolish third party payers or prevent a single-payer system for office visits and medical services; these services are costly to the patient, the physician, and society as a whole.

Our patients need access to brand-name drugs that are as affordable in the United States as in Canada and Mexico.

We must have medical malpractice reform, with caps on all damages, so that we can practice without the fear of needless and unwarranted lawsuits that only benefit attorneys.

An anesthesiologist said; "The Health reform bill is going nowhere. Let's make a major statement between its failure and the next attempt to marginalize doctors."

Check out the following: