Dr. Quentin Young, national coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Program and past president of the American Public Health Association, has sent the following letter to the executive director of APHA, Dr. Georges Benjamin:

March 31, 2009

Georges Benjamin, M.D.
Executive Director
American Public Health Association
800 I Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Dear Georges,

I just learned that the American Public Health Association has joined with others in the Health Reform Dialogue coalition to issue a report on health care reform and, incidentally, that the principals of the coalition have been meeting for the past six months.

The text of the report and the news release from APHA reinforce every fear that I have about the co-optation of the health reform movement by the for-profit, private corporations in our $2.5 trillion health system.

This is not the place for APHA to be.

I fear that the private interests are seeking to assert their hegemony via this route. They are taking advantage of the chaotic economy to facilitate the complete corporate takeover of the health system.

Now is precisely the time when APHA should be leading the way to a single-payer, publicly funded health program, the very program we have supported for decades.

Sincerely,

Quentin D. Young, M.D., M.A.C.P.
National Coordinator
Physicians for a National Health Program