Commentary: Patients first? Putting the OSMA Ohio governor endorsement in perspective
In mid-September, the Ohio State Medical Association's Political Action Committee (OSMAPAC) endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy for governor over Dr. Amy Acton, a physician and Ohio's former health director whom many credit with saving lives during the pandemic. Ramaswamy is a billionaire biotech investor. Physicians took notice. More than 1,000 signed an open letter backing Acton, warning that Ramaswamy's positions, including calling Medicare and Medicaid "a mistake," threaten patients' access to care. Many signers belong to OSMA. Anyone who has studied the history of American health reform will recognize the pattern. The most powerful physicians' organization, the American Medical Association, has repeatedly stood in the way of patient-centered reform. That is not a fluke. Organized medicine exists to advance the professional and economic interests of physicians. Benefits to patients are…