Sarasota Health News

Venice doctor vies for U.S. Senate seat

David Gulliver - posted 8:30 pm Tuesday, Aug. 11

Dr. Julio Gonzalez, an orthopedic surgeon from Venice and author of a book on health care reform, has asked Gov. Charlie Crist to appoint him to the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Mel Martinez.

Gonzalez says his experience makes him the ideal candidate for the post, given that Congress will take up a massive health care reform bill when it goes back into session in September. By law, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist appoints someone to fill a Senate vacancy.

“I think the governor needs to consider the issue of health care reform and how that will play out in the fall,” Gonzalez told SarasotaHealthNews. “I want to give the governor the most capable candidate at his disposal to engage in that debate.”

In a recent interview, Gonzalez drew an analogy between the reform legislation and his own practice. The main bill, H.R. 3200, is the equivalent of doing a total knee replacement on patient without first trying physical therapy or less intensive measures.

Congress could get health care to most of the uninsured with tougher regulations of insurers and an overhaul of existing programs for the poor, like Medicaid, which is crippled because it pays so little that few doctors participate.

Fix private and public plans, he said, “and you could have 80 to 90 percent of people below poverty covered.”

Gonzalez laid out those ideas and other in his self-published book, “Health Care Reform: The Truth,” in February. He also has traveled to Washington, D.C., several times to lobby on healthcare issues.

In a letter to colleagues Tuesday, Gonzales said that as a Hispanic Republican, he afforded Crist the chance to appoint someone with the same background as Sen. Martinez.

He also said he wanted only temporary duty, surely an appeal to Crist, who is running for election to the same post in 2010. “I am a candidate who is guaranteed to not seek election for this seat during the upcoming election cycle,” he wrote.

Gonzalez has other qualities that might appeal to Crist: He was in the U.S. Naval Reserve, serving as a flight surgeon on two deployments on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. America in the mid-1990s. He also is the son of Cuban immigrants, born and raised in Miami.

He has been chief of surgery and chief of staff at Venice Regional Medical Center, and is active in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Florida Medical Association and the Florida Orthopaedic Society.

He studied medicine at the University of Miami, with a residency at University of Florida’s Shands Hospital Urban Campus in Jacksonville. He lives in Venice with his wife, Dr. Gina Arabitg, and their two children.

Crist spokeswoman Erin Isaac said the office has been deluged with “hundreds” of emails and letters from people seeking Martinez’s seat. A decision is still weeks away, she said.





	Venice doctor vies for U.S. Senate seat David Gulliver - posted 8:30 pm Tuesday, Aug. 11 Dr. Julio Gonzalez, an orthopedic surgeon from Venice and author of a book on health care reform, has asked Gov. Charlie Crist to appoint him to the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Mel Martinez. Gonzalez says his experience makes him the ideal candidate for the post, given that Congress will take up a massive health care reform bill when it goes back into session in September. By law, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist appoints someone to fill a Senate vacancy. “I think the governor needs to consider the issue of health care reform and how that will play out in the fall,” Gonzalez told SarasotaHealthNews. “I want to give the governor the most capable candidate at his disposal to engage in that debate.” In a recent interview, Gonzalez drew an analogy between the reform legislation and his own practice. The main bill, H.R. 3200, is the equivalent of doing a total knee replacement on patient without first trying physical therapy or less intensive measures. Congress could get health care to most of the uninsured with tougher regulations of insurers and an overhaul of existing programs for the poor, like Medicaid, which is crippled because it pays so little that few doctors participate. Fix private and public plans, he said, “and you could have 80 to 90 percent of people below poverty covered.” Gonzalez laid out those ideas and other in his self-published book, “Health Care Reform: The Truth,” in February. He also has traveled to Washington, D.C., several times to lobby on healthcare issues. In a letter to colleagues Tuesday, Gonzales said that as a Hispanic Republican, he afforded Crist the chance to appoint someone with the same background as Sen. Martinez. He also said he wanted only temporary duty, surely an appeal to Crist, who is running for election to the same post in 2010. “I am a candidate who is guaranteed to not seek election for this seat during the upcoming election cycle,” he wrote. Gonzalez has other qualities that might appeal to Crist: He was in the U.S. Naval Reserve, serving as a flight surgeon on two deployments on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. America in the mid-1990s. He also is the son of Cuban immigrants, born and raised in Miami. He has been chief of surgery and chief of staff at Venice Regional Medical Center, and is active in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Florida Medical Association and the Florida Orthopaedic Society. He studied medicine at the University of Miami, with a residency at University of Florida’s Shands Hospital Urban Campus in Jacksonville. He lives in Venice with his wife, Dr. Gina Arabitg, and their two children. Crist spokeswoman Erin Isaac said the office has been deluged with “hundreds” of emails and letters from people seeking Martinez’s seat. A decision is still weeks away, she said.