Nation's physicians sponsor "Voice for the Uninsured" Day at the Iowa State Fair
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August 16, 2007
Des Moines, Iowa — To ensure that the next president puts meaningful health system reform at the top of the national agenda, the American Medical Association (AMA) will ask the people of Iowa to join a national call to action during the AMA Voice for the Uninsured Day at the Iowa State Fair.
"The people of Iowa will be the first to cast their votes in the presidential primaries, and the AMA wants voters to show the candidates how important the uninsured crisis is to them. Physicians are here at the Iowa State Fair encouraging Iowans to keep the issue of the uninsured in mind when they vote, and let the candidates know that it is unacceptable for one in seven Americans to be uninsured," said Samantha Rosman, MD, an AMA board member who heads the association's task force on health care reform.
The AMA has a comprehensive plan to help remedy the problem of the uninsured through tax credits, greater patient choice, and health insurance market reform. Iowa fairgoers visiting the AMA exhibit will have an opportunity to sign the petition in support of the AMA's proposal for providing health insurance to all Americans, and learn more about how to share their position with presidential candidates in the Iowa Caucuses.
"We, as Iowans, are genuinely concerned for Americans who do not have the access to the health care they need because they are uninsured. We also understand that the plan to fix this problem must be based in market principles in order to work. The Iowa State Fair is the perfect venue to bring attention to this important issue and for the AMA to discuss its thoughtful proposal for solving it," added James Hubbard, MD, a practicing pediatrician from Dubuque and current president of the Iowa Medical Society.
The AMA Voice for the Uninsured Day at the Iowa State Fair will include an informational tent at the Fair Administration Building with volunteer physicians available to discuss the AMA's plan to cover the uninsured.
For more information regarding the AMA Voice for the Uninsured Plan, visit: www.VoiceForTheUninsured.org.
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