[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17527]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   THE MEDICAL PROFESSION NEEDS HELP

  (Mr. PRICE of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, you remember the old Peanuts 
cartoon strip, and the booth with the sign on it that said, ``The 
doctor is in''? Well, too many times these days nobody is in at the 
doctor's office, and we are not currently improving the situation.
  Many doctors are being forced to shut their doors and leave the 
practice of medicine due to skyrocketing insurance premiums. In 
addition, medical schools are seeing fewer young people apply, not as 
many people interested in becoming doctors.
  This week we will be talking a lot about problems and solutions to 
the challenges we face in health care, and a few questions we must 
answer are: Where will our doctors come from? What can we do to 
increase the number and maintain the quality of those wanting careers 
in medicine?
  Skyrocketing medical school costs raise critical questions. Is the 
cost of medical schools preventing some of our best and brightest from 
choosing to become a doctor? How will this affect the quality of care 
for all patients?
  Mr. Speaker, patient choice is about being able to choose the doctor 
that is right for you. If bright young people are not going into 
medicine, we all lose. Let us work to improve our system so patients 
will be able to have the right to choose the doctor that is best for 
them.

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