Tom Coburn: “this is an ironic twist that I am against my doctor friends in the House. I do so not without risk to myself. I was…”

“this is an ironic twist that I am against my doctor friends in the House. I do so not without risk to myself. I was castigated at the AMA when they had the House of Delegates because I opposed the bill. I voted for the Patients' Bill of Rights. I have worked hard to try to see that we get a bill for patients. I understand the motivation, severely, behind this bill. I think the motivation is pure. But I do think that our obligation, and as the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Ganske) said, if a patient came to him, he would do it whether he got paid or not. How is it we have a health care system where we have to make a consideration about whether we get paid or not, whether or not there is a question about adequate remuneration? The fact is that this is about money, unfortunately. To say it is about patient care is really not true, because everything I have heard from the doctors that I have talked about has been about money. Money is associated with patient care. The question has been raised about low monthly payments for patients in an HMO, but the only way an HMO can force a doctor to accept $10 a month for pediatric care is if there are way too many doctors in that market. So although the goals and the desires of my friends from the AMA are good, what they want to do is continue to perpetrate the maldistribution of physicians in this country.”