Recent Activities

Doctors for America has engaged in a variety of health reform activities over the past few months. Please see our Press Center and Facebook Page for more information.

Take Action and become a part of this unprecedented movement.

Webcasts and Calls

As part of our efforts to help physicians get informed about the issues, we've hosted and participated in a series of webcasts and teleconferences with various experts and policymakers and even with ourselves!

  • White House Physicians Q&A Call (August 17)
  • DFA Leadership Strategy Call with Members
  • White House Physicians Briefing
  • Peter Harbage (August 5)
  • Congressman Steve Kagen, MD, Conference Call (July 14)
  • Ellen-Marie Whelan, Payment Reform Webcast (July 1)
  • Senator Chris Dodd (organized by SEIU)
  • Governor Howard Dean, MD, Physicians and Reform Webcast (May 30)
  • Tom Lee, Payment Reform Webcast (May 26)
  • Jacob Hacker, Public Option Webcast (May 18)
  • Ashish Jha, Health IT Webcast (May 11)
  • Neera Tanden Webcast (April 16)

Joint Letters and Statements with Physician Organizations

See our Press Center for details.

  • Letter to the President (September 17, 2009)
  • Joint Statement on Reform
  • Joint Statement on the Public Option

White House Rose Garden Event

On Monday, October 5, President Obama invited practicing physicians from every state to the White House Rose Garden to show the nation the importance of health reform. Why? As the President said, "You are the people who know this system best. You are the experts. Nobody has more credibility with the American people on this issue than you do." Everyone paid their own way and found their way to Washington. Visit the page to read about the physicians who attended, and watch a video of some of them in action.

Town Halls and Vigils for Health Reform

  • Members have spoken at town halls with Congressmen Steny Hoyer (MD), John Larson (CT), Kendrick Meek (FL), Loretta Sanchez (CA), and many others.
  • MoveOn "We Can't Wait" Vigils

DFA launches Ask a Doctor about Reform

In February, the group launched the AskADoctorAboutReform.org web site to help demystify health reform for patients with messages from real doctors.

DFA Places Ad in Roll Call

On February 22, DFA placed its first advertisement in Roll Call.

Stories for Reform

In January, stories of health insurance difficulties were sent to President Obama and newspapers across America

Standing with Senate Leadership

On December 23, Doctors for America stood with Senator Reid and Senate Leaders to hail the passage of a Senate health care reform bill.

Advocating for the Public Option

In December, Doctors for America's public option campaign pushed for more health care reform choices.

Doctors Push Undecided Congressmembers

In November, as it became clear that health reform was not a done deal in the House, doctors in key districts sent petitions to their members of Congress Ð about half voted yes.

Contact Congress Campaign link

In the month of September, members focused their efforts on calling members of Congress to support health reform.

Tribute to Ted Kennedy Link

After fighting for health reform for four decades, Senator Ted Kennedy passed away on August 26. In response, our members pledged their commitment to health reform.

Health Care for America Now! Rally for Health Reform

On June 25, Doctors for America members from several states traveled to DC for the Health Care for America Now! Rally and Doctor/Nurse Townhall with Howard Dean and Ellen-Marie Whelan.

Xray Campaign

On Wednesday, July 8, Doctors for America gathered on Capitol Hill to hand-deliver an important message to every Senator on behalf of all our members. Take a look!

Payment Reform House Meetings

In early June, Doctors for America members hosted house meetings for physicians to learn about and convey their opinions on payment reform in response to questions posed by the offices of Senators Baucus and Bingaman. Read our report.

Displaying Physician Support in Washington

Doctors for America members have been called upon to show physician support at various events in DC.

  • White House - Secretary Sebelius announces Medicare participation in medical home pilots
  • Senate Leadership Press Conference
  • HELP Markup Press Conference

White House Physicians Stakeholder Meeting

On June 18, four members of Doctors for America attended the White House Physician Stakeholder Meeting on prevention and wellness. We brought with us the concerns and ideas of our members – physicians on the front lines in all 50 states who are fighting for health reform to bring quality, affordable, accessible health care to all Americans. Take a look at the membership-wide emails that were sent surrounding the event.

Surveys and Petitions

Over the past few months, we have collected thousands of comments and opinions from our members on various topics and in various ways. Some of the topics include:

Community Building

1000 doctors joined a call with the Obama Transition team and Tom Daschle to talk about health reform priorities

Voices of Physicians

Physicians from across the country have been voicing their opinions on health reform on our interactive Voices of Physicians map, a project that several other physician groups have participated in. See the map

Field Activities

In addition to these national and web-based activities, our members have increasingly engaged in activity locally including organizing physician panels, speaking at and participating in town halls and rallies, meeting with members of Congress, educating peers about reform, writing letters to the editor and op-eds, and many other activities. Details to follow. Some of these activities are catalogued in our Weekly Updates.