GOVERNMENT & MEDICINE

Latest health care policy adviser -- "Rex Morgan, MD"

Art imitates life as a comic strip doctor knocks Congress in dialogue worthy of the best Washington, D.C., medical lobbyists.

By Jane Cys, AMNews staff. Nov. 6, 2000. Additional information

Washington -- Robert Milam, MD, a family physician in Tempe, Ariz., mentioned to a patient one day that he refuses to accept new Medicare patients because no doctors in their right mind would want to associate with a program that has so many onerous requirements.

Little did Dr. Milam know that his opinion would find its way into the mouth of comic strip family physician "Rex Morgan, MD." In the strip, Dr. Morgan -- echoing the sentiments that many doctors have about burdensome Medicare regulations -- tells a congressman-turned-patient, "I want to help sick people, not work for the government."

This case of art imitating life came about because Dr. Milam's patient happened to be Woody Wilson, the script writer for the Dr. Morgan strip. Unlike Dr. Milam, however, Dr. Morgan unexpectedly finds himself on a plane to Washington so he can give an earful to a panel of lawmakers.

"The idea of Rex speaking to health care reform in an election year made sense from a readership point of view," Wilson said. "It's also a wonderful public health issue that needs to be addressed."

More than 30 million readers in the United States and 14 foreign countries follow Dr. Morgan's struggles to cope with modern medicine's challenges. Psychiatrist Nicolas P. Dallis, MD, created Dr. Morgan in 1948 as a way to entertain and educate readers. Wilson took over as script writer in 1990.

Wilson said many story lines are taken from research and real-life experiences. After Dr. Milam diagnosed him with gastroesophageal reflux disease, for example, Wilson worked the condition into the strip to the benefit of some readers who didn't know they had the disease.

Dr. Morgan's current effort to bring a dose of reality to Capitol Hill's health care reform efforts grew out of conversations Wilson had with his wife, who has a PhD in health policy.

Reaction to the story line has been strong, Wilson said, particularly from people who think he's pushing the Democratic agenda. He's gotten a lot of nasty letters from those who fail to understand that the growing number of uninsured Americans is creating a public health crisis, he said.

"We're adding one million people a year to the rolls of the uninsured," said Wilson, who sees himself as a conservative Republican. At press time, Dr. Morgan was putting finishing touches on his congressional testimony, which will focus on the uninsured.

Dr. Morgan will take a few punches from lawmakers, but "the best is yet to come because he really lets the congressional committee have it," Wilson said.

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The comic strip can be found at the King Features Web site (http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/comics.htm).

Panel from "Rex Morgan, MD," reissued online with special permission of King Features Syndicate Inc.

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