Oct. 10, 2024, 8:10 p.m.
As prominent Republican doctors head to the exits, Democrats may grow the number of physicians in their ranks.
The 118th Congress had more than 15 physicians in the House chamber, only four of whom were Democrats. But three of those GOP physicians—Reps. Larry Bucshon, Michael Burgess, and Brad Wenstrup—are not running for reelection.
There are five new Democratic physicians running for the House who are backed by 314 Action, a group that focuses on recruiting and training Democratic scientists for public office. Three of the five are favored to win. One contender is in a tight race against GOP Rep. David Schweikert in Arizona’s 1st District, and another is running to flip Wisconsin’s 8th District.
“Overwhelmingly what I hear from [physicians] is they get to a certain point and they realize there’s only so much they can do for their patient from the exam room, and to really have a more complete care for their patients, they needed to take this step into public service,” said Shaughnessy Naughton, founder and president of 314 Action.
Some of the candidates told National Journal that physicians can bring a broader perspective and connection to their communities that other politicians lack.
“Politicians in general are pretty isolated in their spheres of influence,” said Maxine Dexter, a physician who is running to replace retiring Rep. Earl Blumenauer in Oregon’s 3rd District. “Physicians, when they come into politics, have a pretty diverse perspective.”
Amish Shah, an emergency physician who is running to unseat Schweikert in Arizona, said physicians, nurses, and patients are aware of how “broken our system is.”
“I saw a lot of people in politics who were not really connected to the people they serve, so I wanted to really bridge that gap,” Shah said. “I’m known around town for being the door-knocking guy, because I’ve knocked on 22,000 doors personally.”
Kelly Morrison, an OB-GYN running for Minnesota’s 3rd District, said she was struck “by how similar the act of door-knocking is to taking care of patients, because you knock on someone’s door and they answer it, you introduce yourself, and then you listen—you listen to what’s on people’s minds, what’s bothering them, what’s hurting them, and then you take that information and try to solve problems together.”
Kristin Lyerly, another OB-GYN, who is running for Wisconsin’s 8th District, is encouraging physicians to run for public office. “As physicians, we are respected and we hear so many stories from other people that gives us a broad idea of what people are going through and how we can use our skills uniquely to make change in our communities,” she said.
314 Action also backs the four incumbent Democratic physicians in the House, three of whom are in Democratic-leaning districts. The fourth, Rep. Yadira Caraveo of Colorado, represents a district that is considered a toss-up, according to The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter.
The possibility of adding more Democratic doctors to the caucus means the number of doctors who support abortion rights, including OB-GYNs in particular, would also grow in Congress. The current OB-GYNs in Congress, Burgess and Sen. Roger Marshall, are antiabortion.
Morrison is favored to win against Republican candidate Tad Jude to fill the seat that is currently held by Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips.
“I think, in this moment in our nation’s history, having an OB-GYN who has practiced for more than 20 years, who understands what these abortion bans do to patients and to families, is really important,” Morrison said.
As a state senator, Morrison was part of the effort to get a law passed that would protect abortion providers from facing penalties from other states’ laws.
In Wisconsin, Lyerly faces steep competition in a district considered solidly Republican by the Cook Report. She was the plaintiff in a lawsuit that ensured abortion remained legal in Wisconsin after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
Lyerly told National Journal that the district isn’t as red as people think and that voters there are more independent. She described her campaign as a “movement” that has attracted support from across the country.
“They understand that, as a candidate, I will be the first pro-choice OB-GYN in Congress and the difference that could make, not only when it comes to reproductive rights, but when it comes to health care in general,” she said. “We’ve got the most expensive health care in the world, and our outcomes are the worst by far amongst peer countries, especially when it comes to moms and babies.”
Reproductive rights may be the most visible health issue this cycle, but it is far from the only issue these doctors want to address in Congress.
“There’s no end of problems associated with health care that we need to fix,” said Lyerly, pointing to prescription-drug costs and prior-authorization processes as examples.
Dexter, a pulmonologist and critical-care specialist, said improving people’s health will take more than just investing into health care, noting that other factors such as shelter and nutrition can have an impact. “Housing and food security—even though I’m a health care provider, if people are fed and they’re sheltered they’re going to be far healthier in the bigger sphere than if we put all of our money into health care,” she said.
She named ongoing problems with opioid overdoses and substance-use disorders, housing insecurity, and health impacts from climate change as some of her top priorities should she win in November.
The three prominent Republican physicians leaving Congress have consistently fought against yearly Medicare payment cuts for physician payments.
Shah said the Medicare cuts need to stop. “Every time you cut those reimbursements, fewer and fewer doctors have the incentive to go out and care for our seniors,” he said.
Shah said if he makes it to Congress, he would support a public option, a health care plan run by the government, which was floated as part of the Affordable Care Act debate under the Obama administration but was eventually dropped. “If we could even charge a little bit more on that option so that we could actually bring some revenue in, that would stabilize Medicare for our seniors,” he said.
Along with reproductive health care, Morrison plans to continue her work on the high cost of prescription drugs. She would want to expand the list of drugs that are subject to Medicare price negotiation.
Morrison also pointed to prior-authorization practices, an issue that has already gotten the attention of lawmakers. Insurers will often require a health care provider’s approval before a doctor provides a prescription or service so that it is covered by the plan. Groups like the American Medical Association argue it is overused and causes delays in care.
Morrison worked on legislation in Minnesota to reduce barriers due to prior authorizations and shorten determination timelines. The bill was passed into law in 2020.
She said prior authorization is an “onerous process that has a lot of negative repercussions."
"Most importantly, [it] can delay access to, in some cases, lifesaving care," she said. "It increases bureaucracy, the cost of health care, and causes burnout among our already strained health care workforce.”
If these candidates make it to Capitol Hill, they will have to work with a polarized Congress, including conservative doctors such as Rep. Andy Harris, who is the new chair of the House Freedom Caucus.
“We’re all scientists at the core of this,” Dexter said. “We are usually pretty pragmatic, and we’re willing to be swayed in our opinions based on data. That is really what I’m going to show up and expect that my conservative colleagues and I can really dig into.”
Shah pointed to his work in Arizona’s Republican legislature, where he reached across the aisle to address issues such as maternal health, pay for police officers, and violence against health care workers.
“I can get stuff done,” he said. “I’ve spoken to some congresspeople already and asked them, 'Despite this dysfunction, are you able to get stuff done?' I think … that the media doesn’t always cover all of the positive policy changes that are bipartisan that do happen.”
Morrison said part of the reason she ran for state office was her concern over political polarization. “I have no delusion that I’m going to go fix Congress by myself,” she said. “But I do think it’s really important that we continue to send people to Washington who believe in the promise of our country and who want government to work.”
