California Family Physicians Call on President Obama to Lead National Health Care Reform.

Doctors Launch Web Site Telling Uninsured Patients' Stories, Calling Statewide Suffering a 'Humanitarian Crisis'

SAN FRANCISCO -- Members of the California Academy of Family Physicians (CAFP) today underscored a call for action with real-life patient stories to urge newly inaugurated President Barack Obama to begin immediately addressing health care reform nationwide. The physicians delivered a letter to the President and simultaneously unveiled a new Web site featuring photos and stories about the plight of their patients who are uninsured. (See www.ADayintheLifeoftheUninsured.org)

"The suffering we see daily among our uninsured patients is nothing short of a humanitarian crisis," said Jeffrey Luther, MD, president of the 7,000-member association. "As witnesses to this suffering, family physicians are taking strong steps to call President Obama's attention to California's six million uninsured."

"Six million is just a number until you look into the faces and listen to the stories of people with cancer who can't afford medications to ease their pain while dying," he said, "or people who can't afford doctor visits to treat their diabetes and then learn a foot amputation is the cost of years of no care."

Carla Kakutani, MD, of Winters submitted a story for the Web site about a patient named Joe, who had lost his health insurance and missed six months of care. "The Web site hadn't even gone live yet and I was filling out his death certificate," Kakutani said. "He suffered from renal failure, chronic heart failure, sepsis on the backdrop of longstanding diabetes. Did missing six months of care play a role in his death?"

Citing years of negotiations with state legislators who have been unable to solve the crisis of the uninsured, California's family physicians are taking their message straight to the top on this inauguration day. "We will continue to work in good faith with our state leaders," Luther said, "but we cannot continue quietly trying to remedy one devastating patient situation at a time. The continued, unconscionable neglect of Americans' health - because they cannot afford health insurance and cannot afford care - demands immediate action by leaders at every level."

To "put a human face" on the problems that plague uninsured residents, the California Academy today posted stories of uninsured patients as told by their physicians, stories accompanied by patient photos taken by their doctors. From Orange County and Fresno to San Francisco and Sacramento, the stories shine light on circumstances previously kept in the shadows as individuals tried to cope with what is really a system-wide failure, Luther said. The public Web site also offers a frequently updated list of media articles about the epidemic of the uninsured and suggestions for ways to get involved in finding solutions.

"Reading the stories alone is reason enough to visit the site," Luther said. "It offers a glimpse of the human suffering that underlies the economic statistics." Consider Martin's story. He has had diabetes for several years and, despite working two fulltime jobs, has no health insurance. He has been unable to afford all of the recommended medications, supplies, and doctor visits and has his blood sugar checked just once a year. He knows he needs to see a doctor more often to control his diabetes and prevent potentially disabling complications, but he simply cannot afford the care.

"I have patients who are struggling with several jobs just to live," said Eric Ramos, MD, of Patterson, near Modesto. "Health care is a luxury for them."

"It amazes me that it is often cheaper for my patients to travel to another country for health care than to receive it in the United States," said Geoffrey Leung, MD, of Montclair in San Bernardino County. "What does this say about our country when people have to leave its borders in order to seek affordable health care?"

"Family physicians will continue adding our patients' stories to the Web site and will continue advocating for every California resident to have full access to high quality, affordable care," said Luther. "Health care reform is one of the Academy's highest priorities. The suffering of the uninsured is a public health crisis that we're determined to end."

To schedule interviews with physicians who are telling their patients' stories, contact Catherine Direen at 415/595-7050. For more information, see www.ADayintheLifeoftheUninsured.org and www.familydocs.org.

About the California Academy of Family Physicians

With more than 7,000 members, including active practicing family physicians, residents in family medicine, and medical students interested in the specialty, CAFP is the largest primary care medical society in California, Family physicians are trained to treat an entire family's medical needs, addressing the whole spectrum of life's medical challenges. FPs serve a broad base of patients in urban, suburban and rural areas, often in California's most underserved areas.