AANS and CNS oppose Senate healthcare reform

The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) have joined thousands of other physicians from 12 medical specialty organizations to deliver an urgent message to the public and to Congress: we need reform, but this isn’t the right reform; urge your Senator to vote “NO” on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) as introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The initiative, which features paid newspaper and radio advertisements, will run in Arkansas, Connecticut, Maine and Nebraska and is organized under the banner Physicians United for Patients.

“We are proud to take a lead role in this effort. This is a defining moment, when the voice of physicians needs to be heard,” comments Troy M. Tippett, MD, President of the AANS. “We believe this bill will put the government between patients and their doctors. It is therefore vital that concerned citizens call their Senators now and urge them to work for reform that protects patients -- and to vote no on this current bill. It’s not too late to steer our leaders down a different path.”

Gerald E. Rodts, MD, President of the CNS states, “It's crucial that the American public, and members of Congress, understand that not all doctors in America support this bill. We are deeply concerned that this legislation, with how it is currently written, will indeed harm the doctor-patient relationship, which is at the heart of quality care. The right healthcare reform will safeguard the doctor-patient relationship, not destroy it.” .