'Willing to take the hits' for speaking out against the GOP repeal bill

Robert Doherty, the long-time chief lobbyist of the American College of Physicians, has drawn attention for his outspoken criticism of the House Republican legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Doherty is senior vice president for government affairs at the Philadelphia-based ACP, which represents 148,000 internists and internal medical subspecialists. He spoke with Modern Healthcare senior reporter Harris Meyer on May 4, minutes after the House passed the American Health Care Act, or AHCA. He described his organization's objections to the House bill and its plans to lobby the Senate to preserve the ACA's insurance coverage expansions. The following is an edited transcript.