John Bulger, DO, sees political involvement as just another way to take care of his patients.
"If you're going to be able to take the best care of your patients, you need to be involved in advocacy for your patients. Advocacy takes many forms, and one of those forms is political advocacy," Dr. Bulger said.
In 2004, Dr. Bulger ran for state representative. Although this move was mostly inspired by dissatisfaction with his representative, Dr. Bulger also wanted to be a voice for patients and physicians in Harrisburg.
Dr. Bulger lost the election, but he hasn’t lost his motivation to stay involved in the political process. Despite his busy schedule—Dr. Bulger has a demanding job as a young physician, three small children, and a wife who is also a physician—he's an active member and past board member of the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s political action committee (PAMPAC), on the boards of the State Society, American College of Osteopathic Internists (ACOI), American Directors and Medical Educators (AODME), Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), and chair of Montour County Republican Committee.
He says the biggest health care issue in Pennsylvania is regulation.
"We need to be able to bring common sense into the regulation of health care. There needs to be oversight, but not for the sake of having oversight," Dr. Bulger said. "The general feeling from some legislators and regulators is that there are some dubious physicians out to make money and not to take care of patients, which I think isn't true."