Doctor Criticizes Plan

If enacted, President Clinton's health care plan will fail quickly, Dr. David Himmelstein, national coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Program and an associate professor at the Medical School, told an audience of 30 students in Emerson Hall last night.

Himmelstein said the president's proposed "managed competition" plan will only increase bureaucracy and reduce a patient's freedom to choose his or her own doctor.

It will not control costs as Clinton has promised, Himmelstein said.

Instead, Himmelstein argued that the U.S. should move towards a Canada-style government-administered health care system with coverage for all necessary medical services.

The doctor described a motor vehicle accident after which a victim with multiple broken bones and a ruptured aorta was taken to a public hospital 30 miles away because she did not have any insurance. "This kind of case is not uncommon in the U.S," he said.