By Bill Graves
The Oregonian, Nov. 7, 2011
A group of Oregon physicians who call themselves the Mad as Hell Doctors failed to put a single-payer option on the table in Congress’ debate on health reform two years ago, but they did win a national award recently for trying.
Physicians for a National Health Program awarded the doctors the Dr. Quentin Young Health Activist Award nine days ago during the organization’s national conference in Washington, D.C. The Mad as Hell Doctors won the award for “passionate work and play” in efforts to bring public awareness to problems in the health care system.
The doctors took their name from the 1976 movie “Network,” in which a character rallied the public with the line: “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.”
Six Mad as Hell Doctors embarked from Portland two years ago in a motor home on a cross-country campaign for a single-payer solution to the nation’s health care system, an option that had been dismissed in the unfolding congressional health care debate. A single-payer plan would create one organization, a nonprofit or, more likely, the federal government, to run one health insurance program for the nation, something like Medicare for everyone.
The doctor activists, promoted by Adam Klugman, a Tigard political activist, took their message to about 30 cities before reaching Washington, D.C. They continue to tour, speak and advocate for health care reform.
Doctors involved in the cross-country campaign included: Dr. Eugene Uphoff and Dr. Samuel Metz of Portland; Dr. Paul Hochfeld of Corvallis, Dr. Michael Huntington of Corvallis, Dr. Joseph Eusterman of Wilsonville and Dr. Bob Seward of Forest Grove.
More than 600,000 people in Oregon, most adults, lack health insurance. The state hopes to enlist most of them by 2014 in an Oregon Health Exchange, an insurance marketplace, still under design, where they can shop for government-subsidized coverage.
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