Only Clinton responds to the New England Journal of Medicine request to share health care vision

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) is one of the most prestigious medical journals in the United States if not the world.

Every four years in the fall before the Presidential election they invite the candidates to share their health care platforms. One could say it has become a tradition.

Four years ago in 2012 they approached Romney and Obama and they both shared their platforms.

In 2o08 they approached McCain and Obama and both replied.

In 2004 they approached Bush and Kerry, who both replied.

 

You get the idea.

It’s a good way for the candidates to provide a detailed vision of health care to people who are on the front lines of health care. It helps a candidate to have at least a few doctors who can say, “Hey, that could work.”

By the end of September the a Presidential candidate should already have a well-constructed, fine-tuned health care plan. In addition, your campaign staffers (or at least one of them) should have done some research so when the NEJM comes calling you can send along the answer that you have thought long and hard about over the past year (or perhaps even longer). It should be a no brainer to e-mail it over. It should simply be the process of attaching a file and clicking send.

This year only Hillary Clinton responded to the NEJM. You can read her answer here.

That’s right, a free avenue to advertise your health plan and win over doctors and the Trump campaign didn’t even respond.

Disorganization? No health care plan? Think doctors will laugh at your plan? I have no idea, but the silence is simply incredible and Trump’s lack of response disgraceful, incompetent, or both.

Seriously, if you can’t give your plan to a medical journal in a coherent fashion in a format where no one will challenge you when exactly can we expect you to share some details of your health care plan?

I’m a doctor. I have a son with serious health conditions who will be in and out of the hospital over the next four years just was he was over the last four years. And the four years before. And the four years before that. How health care changes under a President affects my life at work and at home. Day and night. I’m not the only one for whom this silence is disquieting.

My patients deserve to know Mr. Trump’s plan.

My son deserves to know Mr. Trump’s plan.

I deserve to know Mr. Trump’s plan.

America deserves to know his plan.

Not having a response to give or having one and muffing getting it to the NEJM is simply unacceptable.

I don’t trust a candidate to deliver an “amazing” surprise health care plan, I expect to know what they propose and why and then see the facts that support their claims and you do too.