AMA to Houston Chronicle: AMA's antidote to scare tactics

Houston Chronicle
Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

REGARDING Paul Krugman's July 10 Outlook column, "It's Sicko: Scare tactics amount to health care terror": Make no mistake, the American Medical Association is committed to extending health care coverage to all Americans, and we've worked for more than 10 years to make that happen.

We recently joined forces with 15 other national organizations in the Health Coverage Coalition for the Uninsured to develop a plan that focuses on covering children in the United States as the first step to covering all Americans.

If this well-defined plan is adopted on a federal level, it can cover the millions of uninsured Americans who are struggling to get the health care they need. The proposal builds on the strengths of our current system, focuses on fairness and increased choice and advocates for tax credits that would provide the most help to those who need it the most - lower-income Americans.

The AMA is glad to see the issue of the uninsured in the national spotlight, but we disagree that the best solution is to give up and sign our health care system over to the government.

Americans need effective, feasible solutions and the AMA offers our best.

Sincerely,

Ron Davis, MD
President, American Medical Association