FROM BARACK OBAMA'S WEBSITE AND NEWSLETTER:

More than 5,000 practicing and academic physicians across the United States sign on to support the Obama-Biden heath care plan.

Physicians from all across the nation, from practice and from academic medicine, have come together in support of the Obama – Biden ticket, convinced that electing these leaders will be the first step in ensuring that all Americans have access to a quality, affordable and secure health care.

The contrast between the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates with respect to America's health crisis could not be starker. 45 million uninsured, rising costs of coverage and erosion of benefits for those with coverage are some of the issues that many Americans face every day. Furthermore, the on-going fiscal crisis gripping the nation makes the need for reforming the health care system even more compelling. At $2 trillion and climbing, the cost of care in America is itself in crisis and needs meaningful reform as a first order priority for a new administration.

At the same time, physicians and hospitals see the practice of medicine and the delivery of quality health care becoming increasingly difficult. Deteriorating conditions of medical practice are discouraging doctors from going into primary care specialties like family medicine and pediatrics. Hospital emergency rooms are jam packed with patients desperate for care that has become unaffordable or unavailable. Furthermore, doctors from many of the nation's most prestigious medical centers have also grown increasingly concerned that support for research that can lead to cures of cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's Disease and other deadly conditions is simply inadequate.

"Now more than ever we must cut health care costs for families and businesses facing this financial crisis, and provide affordable, accessible health insurance for every single American. I am heartened to see so many doctors speaking out about this issue and honored to have them join me and Joe Biden in this fight," said Senator Barack Obama. "At a time when rising costs have put too many families and businesses on a collision course with financial ruin and left too many without coverage at all, our doctors know that band aids and half-measures just won't do. People all across the spectrum – Democrats and Republicans, doctors, nurses and patients – we are joining together to solve this problem now. We cannot afford to wait."

And according to co-chairman of Doctors for Obama-Biden 2008, Dr. David Blumenthal, "Many aspects of the health care system are broken. We need to be training more primary care physicians – and make sure that they have the incentives to stay in practice where they are most needed. And we must bring the medical research budgets supported by the NIH up to levels that will allow medical science to find the cures to many of our most serious health care challenges. Senators Obama and Biden understand these challenges and are prepared to do what it takes to address these basic concerns. Senator McCain simply doesn't seem to understand what's at stake." Dr. Blumenthal is director, Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital and the Samuel O. Thier Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

According to Dr. Irwin Redlener, co-chairman of Doctors for Obama-Biden, "The fact is that Senators Obama and Biden clearly understand the growing health care crisis. They are offering a series of proposals that will bring affordability, stability and quality to every aspect of the health care system". Furthermore, Dr. Redlener underscores the point to that "Americans who like their current coverage and their own physicians will see no change, other than a lower annual out of pocket cost of care. It's only those that are dissatisfied with the cost or quality of the care they're getting, or those who have no coverage at all, who will have new, affordable options – including access to similar health care plans to those enjoyed by members of Congress. Senator McCain's plan will do nothing to control the costs of care for the average American or do anything to improve the quality or accessibility of medical care in the U.S." Dr. Redlener, a pediatrician, is professor of Population and Family Health at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

In the Obama-Biden plan doctors can see a clear path to solving problems that have become epidemic throughout the country. Dr. Chris Barley, an internal medicine physician at New York-Cornell Medical Center, said, "The health care crisis has wide-ranging consequences for families, as well as the economy in general. Too many families are forced to choose between paying high rates of health insurance or paying the rent or heating bills. In addition, more and more employers are dropping coverage and benefits for their employees because of sky-rocketing costs." The doctors' group noted that the national cost of health care had risen from approximately $1 trillion in 2000 to $2 trillion in 2005. For families, between 2000 and 2007, wages have risen about 24% compared health insurance costs which have soared more than 95%.

Expressing concerns about the state of the nation's public health system and safety net for vulnerable populations, H. Jack Geiger, MD, said, "Disparities in health care and great gaps in the availability of quality health care for all Americans is a major problem. Few if any health care plans cover the full range of preventive services that would help doctors and their patients control the ravages of chronic illness. Many of us in the public health community greatly appreciate Senator Obama's commitment to addressing these fundamental challenges in his first term as president." Dr. Geiger is founder of the nation's community health care network and Logan professor emeritus at the City of New York Medical School.

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Barack Obama For President 2008 !!!