Doctors and Nurses Kicked Out of Health Care Hearing

Several doctors and nurses delayed a Senate Finance Committee hearing on health care reform this morning. The group protested what they said was the exclusion of advocates for a government-run, single-payer system from the Committee's three round table discussions on the topic.

As the hearing began, more than a dozen nurses rose with their backs to the senators before walking out en masse.

Five doctors and nurses then rose one at a time, either shouting or reading aloud from prepared text, until being removed by a Capitol Police officer. One yelled, "We want guaranteed health care!" Another said, "Why isn't a single-payer at the table? This is a sham!" Another said Florence Nightingale would not approve of the current state of American care.

Although the Finance Committee has held three public hearings with more than three dozen witnesses, no witness has advocated a single-payer system. Instead, witnesses represented a collection of health care providers, insurance companies, business interests, labor groups, think tanks and academics.

"Somehow the advocates for nurses and doctors have been shut out of the process," said Chuck Idelson, a spokesman for the California Nurses Association, which organized today's protest. "They're hearing from businesses, insurers and even the Heritage Foundation, but not from the people who actually provide health care to patients."

The full lists for the first, second and third hearings are on the Finance Committee website.

President Obama made clear yesterday that he is not advocating single-payer health care reform. With CEOs of major health care companies standing behind him, the president listed his three reform criteria as cutting costs, ensuring that Americans can keep their current doctor or health care plan, and providing health insurance to all Americans.

As committee chairman Sen. Max Baucus ejected the final protester, he said over the shouting, "Believe me, we hear you. We have an extremely open process. I urge you to contact my office- I'll be there, personally. I will meet with anybody that wants to meet with me."

After his public commitment, Baucus continued the hearing without disruption.