PNHP

Liz McCord, MD

Liz McCord, MD

Addiction Psychiatry

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Dr. Liz McCord is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University in Atlanta. She also serves as an adjunct faculty member for the University of California-Irvine Train New Trainers Fellowship, helping health care professionals improve the delivery of addiction care in their practices. Dr. McCord’s primary clinical and scholarly focus is the treatment of addiction through an integrative approach, developed from her background in both internal medicine and psychiatry. Her articles have been published in a number of leading journals, including the Journal of ECT, Journal of the American College of Surgeons, and Journal of Surgery.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Dr. McCord earned her medical degree at LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans, then moved to Emory University in Atlanta where she completed her residency in internal medicine and psychiatry, served as the ambulatory chief resident for the Internal Medicine Residency Program, and completed a fellowship in addiction psychiatry.

She is a proud advocate for Medicare for All and human rights.

Karen Hochman, MD, MPH

Karen Hochman, MD, MPH

Psychiatry

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Dr. Karen Hochman serves as medical director of the Substance Abuse Evaluation, Stabilization and Placement Program at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Atlanta. She also serves as assistant professor in the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. 

Dr. Hochman earned her medical degree at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, and completed her residency in psychiatry at the University of Manitoba Hospitals and the University of Toronto, followed by a clinical fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Manitoba and a master of public health from Emory University in Atlanta. Having practiced medicine in both the U.S. and Canada, Dr. Hochman is a strong supporter of a single-payer national health program and serves as co-chair of PNHP’s Georgia chapter.

Mindy Guo, MD, MPH

Mindy Guo, MD, MPH

Internal Medicine

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Dr. Mindy Guo is an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. Her previous experience includes providing primary care for several FQHCs serving underserved and uninsured patients, including immigrant and refugee populations. Dr. Guo earned her medical and MPH degrees at Washington University in St. Louis, followed by a family medicine residency at St. Louis University. Dr. Guo is a strong advocate for universal health care, and has served on the board of Missouri Physicians for a National Health Program and the St. Louis Academy of Family Physicians.

George Bohmfalk, MD

George Bohmfalk, MD

Neurosurgery

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Dr. George Bohmfalk is a retired neurosurgeon and health care advocate. He previously worked as a neurosurgeon in Texarkana, Texas and served as a clinical professor in neurosurgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Dr. Bohmfalk’s research has been published in journals such as JAMA, Cancer, and the Journal of Neurosurgery. Dr. Bohmfalk attended medical school and completed his neurosurgery residency at the University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio. He serves as chair of Health Care Justice – NC, the Charlotte, North Carolina chapter of PNHP.

Dr. Bohmfalk has spoken to many groups around the country including the Texas Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Brenda J. Butka, MD, MA

Brenda J. Butka, MD, MA

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Dr. Brenda Butka is a retired pulmonologist in Nashville. Prior to retirement, she was director of the pulmonary program at Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital, and assistant professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University in the division of allergy, pulmonary, and critical care medicine.

Dr. Butka has worked as an intensivist at Nashville General Hospital and as medical director of the progressive respiratory care unit at St. Thomas Hospital. She was medical director of the respiratory therapy department at both hospitals. Her special interests include long-term ventilation, both invasive and non-invasive, and the pulmonary problems of patients with neuromuscular diseases.

Dr. Butka received her undergraduate degree from Andrews University, Michigan, and a masters degree from the University of Michigan. She earned her medical degree from Emory University and completed internal medicine residency and pulmonary fellowship at Vanderbilt.

Jessica Schorr Saxe, MD

Jessica Schorr Saxe, MD

Family Medicine

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Dr. Jessica Schorr Saxe is a retired family physician, national board member of Physicians for a National Health Program, and founder of PNHP’s Charlotte chapter, Health Care Justice-NC.

Dr. Saxe received her medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine, and completed her residency at Duke. From 1980 to 2015, she worked as a family physician for the underserved in Charlotte. Her practice reinforced her interests in access to care, as well as in prevention and lifestyle changes.

Dr. Saxe has written guest columns for the Charlotte Observer for more than 30 years, and frequently speaks to community and medical groups about single-payer health care and other health advocacy topics. She has received numerous community and professional awards, including PNHP’s Dr. Quentin Young Health Activist Award in 2016.

Stephen K. Chao, MD

Stephen K. Chao, MD

Family Medicine

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Dr. Stephen Chao is an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He was previously a staff physician at Legacy Community Health Services, a federally qualified health center in Houston, and was also previously on the faculty at Baylor College of Medicine.

Born and raised in Houston, Dr. Chao attended Rice University, graduating with degrees in Biochemistry and Health Policy. He received his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and also a Masters in Public Health from the University of Texas School of Public Health. He completed his family medicine residency training at UT Health San Antonio and is committed to caring for the underserved residents of Houston and Harris County. His interests include care for immigrant and refugee populations, community health, and public policy.

Dr. Chao is an advisory board member of Physicians for a National Health Program, secretary of the National Council of Asian Pacific Islander Physicians, and vice president of Health Care for All Texas. 

Olveen Carrasquillo, MD, MPH

Olveen Carrasquillo, MD, MPH

Internal Medicine

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Dr. Olveen Carrasquillo is a professor of Medicine and Public Health Sciences and the associate dean for Clinical and Translational Research at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in the Bronx, Dr. Carrasquillo earned his medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine and an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

Dr. Carrasquillo served as Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Miami for 13 years, where he led a clinical, teaching, and research enterprise of 51 full-time faculty. He now serves as co-director of the University’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute, which drives research translation into evidence-based clinical and community practices to improve the health of South Florida’s diverse population.

With more than 20 years of experience leading large NIH grants and randomized trials, Dr. Carrasquillo’s work includes research in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, HIV, cancer, and precision medicine. Dr. Carrasquillo serves as principal investigator at the Southeast Enrollment Center for the NIH’s All of Us Program, as well as the Florida Community-Engaged Research Alliance Against COVID-19 in Disproportionately Affected Communities (FL-CEAL).

Dr. Carrasquillo is currently chair of the Editorial Board for the Journal of General Internal Medicine, and a board member of the Miami-Dade Area Health Education Center and the South Florida Health Council. He is a national expert in minority health, health disparities, community-based participatory research, and community health worker interventions, and is a frequent contributor to major news outlets, including Latino television networks.

Ed Weisbart, MD, CPE, FAAFP

Ed Weisbart, MD, CPE, FAAFP

Family Medicine

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Dr. Ed Weisbart is the national board secretary and MO chapter chair of Physicians for a National Health Program, a non-profit non-partisan organization of more than 25,000 physicians and other health care advocates in support of a publicly financed, nonprofit, single-payer national health insurance program that would fully cover medical care for all Americans.

After practicing family medicine for 20 years at Rush Medical Center in Chicago, he moved to St. Louis in 2003 to serve as chief medical officer of Express Scripts until retiring in 2010. He volunteered as an assistant professor of clinical medicine at Washington University in St. Louis from 2004 until retiring clinically in 2021.

He also serves as president of the Consumers Council of Missouri, a nonprofit organization that works to build a more inclusive and equitable community through advocacy, coalition building, collaboration, and community education.

Dr. Weisbart received his medical degree at the University of Illinois in Chicago in 1979 and completed his family medicine residency and a fellowship in family medicine education at Michigan State University in 1982.

Dr. Weisbart has an extensive history of success across a variety of health care environments with a strong focus on strategic planning, medical group leadership, quality and operational improvement, physician practice enhancement, innovative program development, clinical integrity, primary care, and political advocacy. He is a national speaker with dozens of articles published in both national medical journals and local media regarding the health care needs of the uninsured.

Carol Paris, MD

Carol Paris, MD

Psychiatry

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Dr. Carol Paris is a past president of PNHP, and a recently retired psychiatrist who worked for more than 25 years in private practice, community mental health, prison psychiatry, and academia, including a year as a consultant psychiatrist in New Zealand, where she experienced a single-payer system firsthand. She currently resides in Nashville, Tenn., where her primary interests include mentoring medical students and early career physicians for leadership in advocacy. Dr. Paris earned her medical degree from West Virginia University School of Medicine.