Tom Coburn: “That is one of the problems with this bill. Let's talk about the big problem. As a practicing physician, I know what…”

“That is one of the problems with this bill. Let's talk about the big problem. As a practicing physician, I know what physicians are taught. First, do no harm. Second, listen to your patient, and they will tell you what is wrong with them. Third, if it has already been done, don't do it again. That is what they are taught. With that comes years of experience, clinical judgment, and in-depth knowledge about people and their disease. In this bill is a statement that says: We are going to develop, through a large slush fund at Health and Human Services, a model called comparative effectiveness. There is nothing wrong with comparing effective outcomes. There is nothing wrong with trying to use clinical data to move us in a better direction. But that is not what this is about. This is comparative effectiveness to control cost. I warn the American people tonight, if this bill goes through, we are well on the way to absolute government control of the patient-doctor relationship, because we are going to assume that there is no way that a doctor can make a better decision than a computer.”