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As I watched the crazy news of the day…I grieved for my country. Then I decided to hit the volunteer button. It felt like I found a life boat on the edge of the river. A reasonable, rational, possible plan of engagement that was found in joining the Convention of States Team. I dipped my toes into the waters of self-governance, and waded slowly into the Liberty River, with which I was unfamiliar. From local leadership in my house district in FL, to State Leaders, the real joy, the true inspiration, is all of the amazing patriots I meet as I ride this current. Patriots lining the banks of the river, some plunging in, others stepping in cautiously, still others sizing up the flow of the water and their ability to safely survive the twists and turns before dipping their toes, just like me. You have already signed the petition, but I encourage you to 
Physicians for COS
The diagnosis is clear.
We have a growing cancer today known as the Obamacare. As a result physicians are no longer free to practice medicine.No profession feels the full force of the federal government more than physicians. The medical profession is the most highly regulated profession in the United States. The practice of medicine is controlled, taxed, and regulated to the point of being destroyed by the heavy hand of the federal government.
Physicians are told how to bill, how much to charge, and how to treat patients. They are mandated to use expensive electronic medical records. The federally enacted HIPPA (Health Information Privacy and Portability Act) makes the communication between physicians and atients burdensome, inefficient,and expensive. Every physician is required by federal mandate to register with the government to obtain an NPI (national provider identifier.) We are required by federal law to obtain and pay for a license to prescribe medication through the DEA, which is separate from our state licensure.
This heavy hand of government not only oversees the largest federal health bureaucracy ever created, but by extension reaches into every state, every city, and every small town to regulate how every licensed physician practices the art of medicine and how citizens obtain care.
The treatment is also clear.
The prescription for a cure was written into our constitution by our founders. Article V of our constitution allows for the states to call for a convention of states to limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government through the proposal of constitutional amendments. Physicians should be the strongest supporters of this brilliantly-crafted states’ rights tool placed into our constitution by our founders.
I urge my fellow American physicians to join with me in supporting an Article V Convention of States to take back control of the practice of medicine. It’s the only way that we can return the practice of medicine back to the intimate relationship between a doctor and patient without interference by the heavy hand of a distant, national government.
Jeffrey I. Barke, M.D. Family Physician Newport Beach, CA