News 12 at 11 o'clock -- March 21, 2010

AUGUSTA, Ga. --- The health care debate has been the top issue for months, especially in the medical community. And now that it's passed, local doctors agree the bill will bring about changes in Augusta -- but some say, they won't be the right ones.

For Dr. Mac Bowman, Sunday night has been a long time coming.

"It's a huge deal. It doesn't get much bigger," he says. "To in one fell swoop provide coverage for 32 million people who currently don't have insurance, I think is very important."

He has practiced medicine in Augusta for 25 years and seen his seen his share of patients without health care. He says having access to ongoing care would make a drastic difference in their health.

"I see entering their lives early on when I might be doing something to do with preventing a heart attack, rather than treating one that has already transpired," he says.

He believes now that the bill has come to pass, it will have a strong influence right here at home.

"There are a lot of people without insurance in Augusta," he says. "Augusta has a lot of catch nets, but I think you have folks who fall through those catch nets."

He's talking about programs like Project Access, where doctors and hospitals donate their services to people who can't afford them. He says passing the bill will reach the people those programs can't.

But not all doctors agree.

"We're fearful that medicine as we know it is going to have to change," says Dr. Amy Sprague.

Dr. Sprague is president of Richmond County Medical Society. She says that "change" won't be for the better.

"If we're going to rely on the government to pay our health care bill, then they have the ability to tell us how we're going to use that money," she says. "The freedom of being able to choose your physician is going to be gone."

The group is made up of more than 500 local doctors. Dr. Sprague says they all agree something must be done, but this bill isn't the way.

"There are a number of ways to do this without reinventing the wheel," she says.

Dr. Bowman admits the bill could be better.

"It's not a perfect bill," he says. "But its better than the conditions we have now."

And Democrats say passage means a political victory.

"It's a fantastic, historic and exciting day for America," says Augusta Democratic Chairman Lowell Greenbaum.

But Dr. Bowman says most importantly, the bill is helping those who need it most.

"The millions of people who don't have coverage have to have help," he says. "This was about people, this was not about politics."

Dr. Sprague says there wasn't enough communication between physicians and lawmakers when crafting the bill, and that should have come into stronger consideration.

Certain changes go into effect immediately, but many of the bills provisions are set to take place by 2014.