Inside the Senate—A Physician Congressional Fellow's Experience with Health Care Reform

Abstract

While I was meeting with constituent groups on Capitol Hill last year, one owner of more than thirty fast food restaurants said to me, “Most of my employees are single mothers in college—what do they need health insurance for?” Not until this surprising conversation did I fully appreciate the responsibility I had as a congressional fellow in the United States Senate. We doctors should not only advocate for the needs of our patients and our profession but also protect what we have achieved so far in health care.