Gregory F. Murphy, MD

Gregory F. Murphy, MD

U.S. House of Representatives

Washington, D.C.

Originally from Raleigh, Congressman Greg Murphy graduated magna cum laude from Davidson College in 1985. He attended UNC School of Medicine graduating with Honors. After completing his residency in Urology and Renal Transplantation at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, he and his wife, Wendy, settled in Greenville, NC to begin his practice. Dr. Murphy has been the President of Eastern Urological Associates in Greenville, an Affiliate Professor and Chief of the Division of Urology at the ECU School of Medicine, Davidson College’s Alumni President and served on Davidson’s Board of Trustees. Outside of work, he has traveled extensively for the last 35 years as a Medical Missionary, including to India, several parts of Africa, Nicaragua, and Haiti. Dr. Murphy’s professional career has been primarily one of clinical practice and administrative leadership positions. His surgical practice site is Vidant Medical Center, which serves 29 eastern NC counties. He served for three years as Chief of Staff of the Medical Center. As a newcomer to politics, Dr. Murphy served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. During his second term in the General Assembly, he served as Senior Chair of Health Policy and Chair of Health and Human Services Appropriations. Dr. Murphy was the Primary Sponsor of both the STOP Act and the HOPE Act, North Carolina’s two main legislative actions to combat the Opioid Crisis. He led efforts to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in the state’s Medicaid system which saved the state hundreds of millions of dollars during his tenure. Dr. Murphy was sworn in to the U.S. Representatives in September 2019, replacing the late Congressman Walter B Jones, Jr. He serves on the House Committee on Education and Labor as well as the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

Disclosures:

Talks by Gregory F. Murphy, MD

The Impact of The Debt Ceiling and Rising Healthcare Costs on Physicians

Congressman Gregory F. Murphy, MD, a practicing urologist and the Representative from North Carolina’s 3rd District, speaks with E. David Crawford, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Grand Rounds in Urology, about the impact of the National Debt and rising healthcare costs on physicians and individual practices.

In this 11-minute conversation, they discuss, the reason why practices are often targeted for healthcare cuts, the role of healthcare “middlemen” and insurance companies in the rise of healthcare costs, and the impact of the Debt Ceiling on healthcare practices.

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The Impact of Inflation and Medicare Conversion Reduction on Physician Reimbursements

Congressman Gregory F. Murphy, MD, a practicing urologist and the Representative from North Carolina’s 3rd District, speaks with E. David Crawford, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Grand Rounds in Urology, about the dual impact of increasing inflation and decreasing medicare conversion rates on physician reimbursement. Dr. Murphy refers to the upcoming 4.42% decrease in medicare conversion factors and how it will have an outsized impact on physicians in private practice, especially as inflation has topped 8% in the past year. The two also discuss how certain technologies, such as robotic surgery and disposable cytoscopes, increase costs for physicians, and how cost efficiency should be taught starting in residency programs.

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The Role of Legislation in Innovation and Inequality in Medicine

Congressman Gregory F. Murphy, MD, a practicing urologist and the Representative from North Carolina’s 3rd District, speaks with E. David Crawford, MD, concerning the federal approval process for new medical treatments and racial inequality in medicine. The two note that prior to the Covid-19 vaccine it could take a long time to get a treatment approved, and that the Covid-19 vaccine set a new precedent for timelines where medical treatments can reach the general population. Next, Rep. Murphy discusses racial inequity in medicine, specifically how he believes medicine has become an instrument for politics. He states that the focus should be on patients getting the treatment they need, as well as allowing an open opportunity for qualified candidates to get into medical school and enter the profession. Rep. Murphy also discusses his belief that public faith in medicine has plummeted since the Covid-19 pandemic. Rep. Murphy continues by stating that due to the tragedy of the Tuskegee vaccine issues, the black community has a lot of reluctance getting vaccines. Both agree that it is important to remove politics from medicine and for politicians to work on issues in medicine in a bipartisan manner.

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Impact of Rising Costs on Healthcare

Congressman Gregory F. Murphy, MD, a practicing urologist and the Representative from North Carolina’s 3rd District, discusses rising costs and their impact on healthcare in the United States with E. David Crawford, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Grand Rounds in Urology and Professor of Urology at the University of California, San Diego. Rep. Murphy notes that the United States as a whole is currently experiencing far higher rates of inflation than it has seen in several decades, but he also highlights how healthcare in particular has seen rising costs for the past 30 years. He explains that physician debt coming out of medical school in the early 1990s was around $50,000, and is now closer to $225,000, but physician pay has increased very slowly. Rep. Murphy observes that consumer prices and hospital costs have also increased massively since the early 1990s. He blames this in part on overregulation from the government. Dr. Crawford mentions the hardships faced by small practices, many of whom have shrinking bottom lines and are being bought by venture capital firms. Rep. Murphy and Dr. Crawford opine about the difficulties new doctors and incoming medical students face in a system that seems to value them less and less, and they emphasize the need to protect medical doctors’ interests through legislation.

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Representative Murphy’s Vision for Medical Reform

Congressman Gregory F. Murphy, MD, a practicing urologist and the Representative from North Carolina’s 3rd District, shares his vision for medical reform to help cut costs, ensure appropriate physician reimbursement, and improve care with E. David Crawford, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Grand Rounds in Urology and Professor of Urology at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Crawford congratulates Rep. Murphy on his recent assignment to the House Ways and Means Committee, where his position on the Subcommittee on Health will allow him to help set the agenda on medical reform. Dr. Murphy lists the top issues he feels need to be addressed to move medicine forward, including cutting regulation, increasing predictability in what doctors are going to get paid, and improving the accessibility of healthcare to the average American. Dr. Crawford and Rep. Murphy elaborate on these topics, first commenting on the rise of middlemen in healthcare, and discussing how this can limit doctors’ ability to make the correct choices for their patients. They then consider causes and potential solutions to high prices, from getting rid of direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals to having doctors take the lead on cutting costs by choosing more inexpensive treatments and reducing waste. Rep. Murphy also comments on the current status of the No Surprises Act, which is intended to end high out-of-network medical bills. Dr. Crawford and Rep. Murphy conclude with a brief discussion of the VA.

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