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Two Democratic physicians join the House
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01/08/13 01:29 PM ET
The new class of House freshmen includes two physicians — both California Democrats whose parents were immigrants.
Newly sworn-in Reps. Ami Bera and Raul Ruiz replace former Reps. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.) to keep the total number of doctors in Congress at 20. The vast majority of that group are Republicans.
Bera specializes in internal medicine, while Ruiz practiced emergency care.
"The recommendations are that there should be one doctor to 1,000 to 2,000 people. So we can lower costs and improve upon the number of people that have service, but who are they going to see? We need to take the next step in training more physicians," Ruiz told American Medical News.
Bera, meanwhile, encouraged members of the medical profession to involve themselves in public affairs.
He also praised the Affordable Care Act's emphasis on preventive healthcare while acknowledging that the law is "not the legislation I would have written."
"Let's shift to preventive care. It is good medicine — good for the patient, and it also reduces costs in the long run," Bera said.
The two members hail from Palm Desert and Elk Grove, Calif., respectively.
Their medical colleagues on Capitol Hill are: Reps. Dan Benishek (R-Mich.), Charles Boustany (R-La.), Paul Broun (R-Ga.), Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.), Michael Burgess (R-Texas), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.), John Fleming (R-La.), Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), Andy Harris (R-Md.), Joe Heck (R-Nev.), Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), Tom Price (R-Ga.) and Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Del. Donna Christensen (D-Virgin Islands).
The most popular specialty is surgery, with five lawmakers practicing some form, followed by family medicine (4 members), emergency medicine (3 members) and obstetrics-gynecology (3 members).
