David Scheiner (born 1938) is an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and activist, noted for his efforts in advocating for

single-payer health care Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. He was

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

's personal physician from 1987 till 2008 while he was based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, and is a leading member of

Physicians for a National Health Program Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) is an advocacy organization of more than 20,000 American physicians, medical students, and health professionals that supports a universal, comprehensive single-payer national health insurance progra ...

(PNHP).

Education and practice

Scheiner graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

and gained his

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

degree from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

's College of Physicians and Surgeons, subsequent to which he practiced internal medicine in Chicago for over 40 years with Hyde Park Associates, where his partner was

Quentin Young Quentin David Young (September 5, 1923 – March 7, 2016) was an American physician who was recognized for his efforts in advocating for single-payer health care in the United States. An activist who opposed the Vietnam War and worked on th ...

, who had been personal physician to

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

and has also similarly been instrumental in advocating single-payer health care. He practiced in Hyde Park and worked for

University of Chicago Hospitals The University of Chicago Medical Center (UChicago Medicine) is a nationally ranked academic medical center located in Hyde Park on the South Side of Chicago. It is the flagship campus for The University of Chicago Medicine system and was establ ...

and

Rush University Medical Center Rush University Medical Center (Rush) is an academic medical center in the Illinois Medical District neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship hospital for the Rush University System for Health, which includes Rush Oak Park Hospital a ...

. He retired in 2014.

Advocacy for health care

Scheiner has been a leading advocate of the single-payer health care system since its beginnings, along with his partner and good friend Quentin Young. In August 2009, Scheiner appeared on numerous television and media outlets, including CNN's ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles ...

'', hosted by

Wolf Blitzer Wolf Isaac Blitzer (born March 22, 1948) is an American journalist, television news anchor, and author who has been a CNN reporter since 1990, and who currently serves as one of the principal anchors at the network. He is the host of '' The Sit ...

, and

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

's ''

Real Time with Bill Maher ''Real Time with Bill Maher'' is an American television talk show that airs weekly on HBO, hosted by comedian and political satirist Bill Maher. Much like his previous series ''Politically Incorrect'' on Comedy Central and later on ABC, ''Real ...

'', hosted by

Bill Maher William Maher (; born January 20, 1956) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is known for the HBO political talk show '' Real Time with Bill Maher'' (2003–present) and the similar ...

, appearing as a proponent of a single-payer government health system, in view of the recent debate surrounding U.S. health care reforms proposed by President Obama, whose health care plans he termed as being too "timid". During his appearance on ''Larry King Live'' on August 11, 2009, when he headlined that day's episode, he discussed the issue with Blitzer and other commentators, including former Republican Party presidential candidate

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as we ...

and Dean Ornish, stating how health insurance companies had interfered in the treatment of several of his patients and advocating usage of the single-payer system.

References

External links

Physicians for a National Health Program official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheiner, David Physicians from Illinois Living people People from Chicago 1938 births 20th-century American Jews American health activists Princeton University alumni Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni 21st-century American Jews