Why Rep. Arvind Venkat Says Clinicians Must Lead the Fight for Better Care
In the complex and often contentious world of healthcare policy, the voices of those on the front lines can feel distant from the legislative chambers where decisions are made. Yet, who better to diagnose the ailments of our healthcare system than those who treat its patients every day? This is the central conviction of Representative Arvind Venkat, a practicing emergency physician who also serves in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In a recent discussion, Rep. Venkat shared his unique journey from the ER to the statehouse, arguing that clinicians are not just well-suited but essential leaders in the fight for a more accessible, affordable, and effective healthcare system. His dual perspective offers a powerful diagnosis of our systemic challenges and a clear prescription for how to begin healing them.
From the Emergency Room to the State House: A Physicians Call to Service
For Representative Arvind Venkat, the decision to enter politics was a direct extension of his work as an emergency physician. He views the role not as a career change, but as a broadening of his commitment to public service. An ER doctor has a unique window into a community’s well-being, witnessing firsthand the downstream effects of policy failures, economic strain, and social inequities. This daily exposure to the “strengths and the challenges in your community” provides an unparalleled, real-world education in public health.
The catalyst for his campaign was the COVID-19 pandemic. While serving as president of the state’s emergency physicians’ organization, he saw the deep societal divisions over science and medicine threaten the health of his community. “The combination of understanding the challenges in my community and also knowing that we needed more people with scientific and healthcare backgrounds, in politics, in policymaking because of the challenges we’re facing—that’s what motivated me to run for office,” he explains. Elected in 2022, he became the first physician to serve in the Pennsylvania legislature in nearly 60 years, bringing a perspective grounded in clinical reality to a body often dominated by other professions.
Identifying the Core Crises: Access and Affordability
When asked about the most pressing healthcare issues facing his constituents and the nation, Rep. Venkat points to two intertwined crises: access and affordability. These problems, exacerbated by the pandemic, now threaten the stability of the entire healthcare ecosystem. The challenges manifest in several critical ways:
- Workforce Shortages: Clinician burnout has led to a mass exodus from the bedside, creating significant gaps in care availability.
- Financial Strain: Patients face mounting costs for insurance and treatment, while hospitals and clinics struggle with their own financial viability.
- Poor Outcomes: Despite spending more per capita than any other nation, the United States continues to lag behind other industrialized countries in key health outcomes.
Rep. Venkat’s diagnosis is informed by a constant flow of information. He listens to constituents in his suburban Pittsburgh district, consults with healthcare professionals and stakeholders from across Pennsylvania, and closely monitors federal policy shifts. The persistent threats to programs like Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, for example, directly impact the legislative priorities he champions, as federal decisions have profound local consequences for patients and providers alike.
Why a Broken System Produces Broken Results
A central paradox in a state like Pennsylvania is how it can host a high concentration of world-class medical schools and training programs yet still suffer from significant care access issues. According to Rep. Venkat, the problem isn’t a lack of talent but a flawed system that fails to create a sustainable practice environment. He invokes a powerful axiom of systems thinking: “Every system is perfectly designed to get the results that it wants, and the problem is, is that we are incentivizing results that are not of benefit to our fellow Pennsylvanians.”
He identifies two primary systemic flaws driving these poor results:
- Unchecked Healthcare Consolidation: The relentless trend of mergers and acquisitions has created massive health systems that dominate regional markets.6 In Western Pennsylvania, the healthcare landscape is a “two horse town” controlled by UPMC and Allegheny Health Network. This lack of competition, he argues, leads to an environment where “many health professionals feel that they are widgets, they’re not respected as the professionals that they are.”
- A Flawed Reimbursement Model: The prevailing fee-for-service model rewards volume over value. This incentivizes providers to push patients through the system quickly and encourages organizations to staff at the most minimal levels possible. It creates a “just-in-time warehouse” approach to care that is fundamentally at odds with the unpredictable nature of human health, especially in areas like emergency medicine that must maintain readiness at all times.
A Prescription for Reform: Antitrust Action and Value-Based Care
To fix a system designed for the wrong results, Rep. Venkat advocates for fundamental structural reforms aimed at promoting competition and realigning financial incentives with patient outcomes. He proposes a two-part legislative prescription to address the core problems of consolidation and reimbursement.
First, to counter unchecked market consolidation, he calls for a strong state-level antitrust statute. Pennsylvania is one of only two states lacking such a law, effectively abdicating its responsibility to regulate competition. A robust antitrust framework would empower the state to scrutinize mergers, prevent monopolies, and ensure a healthier, more competitive marketplace that serves patients and respects clinicians.
Second, he argues for an accelerated transition away from fee-for-service and toward value-based care. This means moving to a reimbursement system “based on a global basis of healthcare and outcomes.” Instead of paying for each individual test or procedure, this model would reward providers for keeping populations healthy, managing chronic diseases effectively, and delivering high-quality, efficient care. This shift would fundamentally change the economic drivers of the healthcare industry, prioritizing patient well-being over sheer volume.8
Defending Progress in a Shifting Political Landscape
Meaningful reform is impossible if existing foundations of care are dismantled. Rep. Venkat identifies the most immediate danger to the nation’s health as the persistent political threats to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). He sees proposals to gut these programs as a direct assault on access and affordability. While acknowledging the ACA didn’t fully solve the problem of high prices, he views it as the essential “American vehicle for making sure that everyone that we possibly can is covered by health insurance.”
An erosion of Medicaid and the ACA would not only strip coverage from millions but also trigger a cascade of negative consequences. Uncompensated care costs would soar, shifting the financial burden to insured individuals and threatening the stability of hospitals, particularly in rural and underserved areas. For Rep. Venkat, the first principle of healthcare policy must be to not go backwards. Protecting and strengthening existing coverage is the necessary prerequisite for building a better system.
Advice for the Aspiring Clinician-Advocate
For other clinicians inspired to get involved in advocacy or even run for office, Rep. Venkat offers pragmatic advice rooted in his own experience. He stresses the importance of navigating potential conflicts of interest with employers by establishing clear boundaries from the outset. While he maintains a strict separation—“you don’t do politics when you’re caring for patients actively”—he notes there is a long and proud history of health professionals advocating for public health outside the clinical setting.
Aspiring clinician-leaders must also confront the personal and financial realities of such a commitment. His own journey required a shift to part-time clinical work and a significant pay cut. However, he affirms that the impact is well worth the sacrifice. As the only physician in the legislature, his voice carries unique weight on healthcare issues, allowing him to champion legislation on medical debt relief, hold insurance companies accountable, and defend reproductive rights.
The Power of Coalition: A Final Word for Early-Career Professionals
For residents, fellows, and other early-career professionals eager to make a difference, Rep. Venkat’s most crucial piece of advice is to start by building community. The challenges in healthcare and policy are too large to tackle alone. “It’s very hard in our system of government and policy, and really in society as a single individual to make a profound difference,” he advises. “You need to build coalitions. You need to build alliances.” He points to the recent success of physician unionization efforts, which have been championed by a younger generation of doctors who organized to advance a collective agenda. By finding like-minded individuals and uniting around a shared priority, you can amplify your voice and drive meaningful change.
Rep. Arvind Venkat’s career embodies a new model of healthcare leadership—one that bridges the gap between the exam room and the legislative floor. His work serves as a powerful reminder that the insights gained on the front lines of care are not just relevant but essential to crafting sound public policy. The path forward requires more clinicians to step beyond their traditional roles, lend their expertise to the public square, and lead the charge in building a healthcare system that truly serves the health and well-being of all.
