Physician Congresspersons Generally an Anti-PPACA Crowd

The Republican co-sponsor of H.R. 1004, the Medical FSA Improvement Act, is Representative Charles Boustany (R. La.), a retired heart surgeon. He is one of 19 Representatives who are doctors or nurses by profession. Four Senators have medical training, including Rand Paul of Kentucky. This blog post summarizes the backgrounds of some of the Republican medical professionals in Congress in 2011, and states their respective positions on PPACA. Whether through party affiliation, as a result of lessons learned in the healthcare trenches, or both, none of those surveyed support PPACA outright. Common themes are opposition to more government involvement in healthcare, support for laws permitting the purchase of insurance across state lines, expanded access to and use of Health Savings Accounts, tort reform, and support of small business pooling to increase insurance purchasing power. Former medical professionals on Capitol Hill who do support PPACA include former nurse Rep. Lois Capps, representing California’s 23rd District (including Santa Barbara) and Rep. Jim McDermott (D. Wa.), a psychiatrist.