Andrea Joy Campbell: “Robert Weinmann is a medical doctor, president of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, an independent labor…”

“Robert Weinmann is a medical doctor, president of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, an independent labor union based in Oakland, California. He is a resident of San Jose. Dr. Weinmann was kind enough to lend his support for a bill that I drafted that was heard in the Committee on the Judiciary just about a month and a half ago, and in his testimony he put forward the argument in favor of my bill which would create an antitrust exemption for health care professionals to present a united front when they are met with a united front on the other side by an HMO or some other intermediary. Dr. Weinmann requested that I read his op-ed on this subject personally, and I am pleased to do so, and it is from the San Francisco Examiner of Friday, January 12, 1996. Its title is: Medical red-lining: ``Economic credentials'' for physicians. Credentialing for physicians, a dimension that could be disastrous to patients, it is called ``economic credentialing.'' The term refers to the use of economic or financial criteria to decide whether or not a doctor should have the medical staff membership or privileges without which he cannot practice at his local hospital.”