59% of US docs favor universal care, 32% oppose

These numbers demonstrate quite a turnaround of opinion from the nations doctors,

Of more than 2,000 doctors surveyed, 59 percent said they support legislation to establish a national health insurance program, while 32 percent said they opposed it, researchers reported in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

The 2002 survey found that 49 percent of physicians supported national health insurance and 40 percent opposed it.

"Many claim to speak for physicians and represent their views. We asked doctors directly and found that, contrary to conventional wisdom, most doctors support national health insurance," said Dr. Aaron Carroll of the Indiana University School of Medicine, who led the study.

"As doctors, we find that our patients suffer because of increasing deductibles, co-payments, and restrictions on patient care," said Dr. Ronald Ackermann, who worked on the study with Carroll. "More and more, physicians are turning to national health insurance as a solution to this problem."

This is quite a public relations coup for those of us who support universal coverage. That American doctors have changed their position so dramatically can only be a positive in terms of convincing skeptical members of the public and sheparding legislation through Congress. The American Medical Association has traditionally been a significant roadblock in attempts to bring universal coverage to the United States. If their members have really undergone a significant change of heart they will bring much needed clout to the debate on the side of universal coverage.