GOP: Doctors at White House misrepresent physicians

The doctors summoned to the White House to lend support to healthcare reform don't accurately represent physicians' views, one Republican doctor-turned-lawmaker said Monday.

Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), the chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC) and a former orthopedic surgeon, argued that the 150 doctors providing a backdrop for President Barack Obama's Rose Garden event this morning were "hand picked" by the White House.

"I'm kind of surprised that a hand-picked group of physicians that were brought to the White House today were applauding a government takeover of healthcare," Price said during a conference call organized by the Republican National Committee (RNC).

"I would suggest that a real cross-section of doctors would not be applauding a government takeover of healthcare," he added.

The doctors, hailing from all 50 states and a variety of medical organizations, were on hand at the White House this morning to lend support to health reform efforts as the Senate Finance Committee is set to take up a vote on the last health bill at the committee level.

The RNC included Dr. Donald Palmisano, the former president of the American Medical Association (AMA), to rebut claims that doctors back the health reform efforts in Congress. (The AMA has endorsed the House healthcare reform bill.)

Palmisano said that Congress should look more toward using a model of health insurance provided to federal employees, instead of a public option model for consumers.

Price said the takeaway is that, among doctors, "there are differences of opinions out there."