Cardiology group likes Bush health plan

March 21, 2001
Web posted at: 3:54 p.m. EST (2054 GMT)

By Debra Goldschmidt
CNN Medical Unit

ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- A panel of cardiologists said they were very pleased with the health agenda U.S. President George W. Bush outlined at their conference on Wednesday.

ALSO Bush says current health care bills inadequate     MESSAGE BOARD Health Care Reform

"We heard what we wanted to and we are encouraged that they are putting the patient first," Dr. Douglas Zipes, president of the American College of Cardiology, said after Bush's speech to the group.

The group has "some common ground (with) the president's proposals and there are differences ... that I think can be worked out," he said.

Members of the panel, composed mostly of past presidents of the college, said they are pleased with the issues high on Bush's agenda, particularly a patient's bill of rights and coverage for uninsured patients. They also liked his interest in Medicare reform.

The cardiologists also stressed the importance of access to specialty care, although Dr. Arthur Garson said he thinks such access will automatically improve over time because as more is learned about who does what best, "what a primary care doctor does is going to lessen."

Garson also suspects that in several years there will be a shortage of doctors in some specialty areas. As a result, he said, "the referral system will go away as we need to get more efficient," and everyone will have access to specialty care without the primary care doctor as middle man.

Dr. Abiodun Olatidoye called the speech Bush's "best-ever presentation on the patients bill of rights," and Dr. Mark Goldberg said the president was "powerful, short and to the point," and added that he is happy Bush "acknowledged difficulties doctors are facing and told Congress that their plan is unacceptable."

Dr. Elijah Saunders also spoke highly of Bush's speech but he criticized the administration for not addressing access for minorities "at a time when minority disparities are tremendous."

Dr. Michael Adjei Polu was even more critical, calling the speech "a waste of time" and saying the president "didn't say anything I hadn't heard."

The president had requested the chance to speak at the convention.

"Cardiology is germane to the administration," Zipes noted, pointing to Vice President Dick Cheney's four heart attacks and noting the president's acknowledgment that medical advances are what allow Cheney to be in office today.

Dr. W. Bruce Fye pointed out that when President Eisenhower was in office, he had a heart attack while on a trip in Colorado and had to stay in bed in Denver for many days. Fye also said that the cardiology meeting "is a perfect venue for pointing to a problem that is rampant."

American College of Cardiology

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.