“White Coats” Press Matheson on Health Reform Vote

03.18.2010 by Elizabeth Ziegler

(KCPW News) More than 930 physicians, nurses, and other health care providers in Utah want Congress to pass comprehensive health system overhaul, according to a grassroots group calling themselves the White Coats. About 40 of them, including Bountiful pediatrician Dr. Claudia Fruin, gathered yesterday in Salt Lake City to tell Utah’s Congressional delegation that the bill before them isn’t perfect, but goes a long way toward reducing health care costs, improving access to treatment and saving people’s lives.

“I plead with Congressman Matheson and all our elected leaders to side with the majority of Americans, their families and children and vote in favor of health care reform,” she said.  “If anything is worth our tax dollar, and if anything is described as too big to fail, this is it.”

However, the concept of health reform is unpopular among state legislators. Lawmakers passed a resolution this session urging Congress not to overhaul the nation’s health care system, but instead let each state develop its own reforms.

But White Coats Chairman Dr. Scott Poppen argues the state needs guidance from the federal government to fix what he and hundreds of his colleagues in Utah see as a broken health care system.

“Well look what we’ve done so far. It’s been baby steps, it’s been very slow,” said Poppen.  “At the rate we’re going, it will take decades to get this done. I think that if you’re going to reform the entire system, it needs to be done at the national level. You can’t do it piecemeal.”

Congress is expected to vote on the health care proposal this week. The White Coats are targeting Democratic Congressman Jim Matheson, the only member of Utah’s congressional delegation who hasn’t definitively said he will vote no.