Right now, the Senate is considering health care legislation that threatens the coverage of millions of Americans. The American Health Care Act, which the House passed in May, would slash Medicaid, raise rates, increase deductibles, cut subsidies and weaken patient protections. Losing insurance — or being priced out of the market — is tantamount to losing health care. For patients with cancer, heart disease or diabetes, disruptions in medical care are as grave a threat to health as blood clots, metastases and sepsis.
Most doctors see an intrinsic distinction between calling an insurance company and calling a senator. The former is part and parcel of patient care, while the latter feels like acting on one’s personal interests or opinions.
But in terms of our patients’ health, there is a moral argument that they are equivalent. In our day-to-day lives, doctors and nurses put our patients’ needs first. We must do the same when our government proposes health care legislation.
Medicine is often practiced in what feels like a cocoon. There’s good reason for this — illness involves exquisite vulnerability, and patients discuss things they do not reveal elsewhere. When doctors and nurses close the exam room door, we are trying to block out the outside world metaphorically as well as physically.
Lately, however, the outside world has been muscling its way in. My patients frequently bring up politics — both those who support President Trump and those who think he is bulldozing our country to the ground. I try to stay out of it because these discussions could swamp what little time we have and because politics should never get in the way of the doctor-patient relationship.
