WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- President Obama often talks about all of the forces lining up against his health care plan . But there 's one critic who has remained relatively mum in the debate . Dr. David Scheiner was President Obama 's personal physician for 22 years . David Scheiner , a Chicago , Illinois-based doctor , has taken a hard look at the president 's prescription for health care reform and sees bad medicine . `` This is n't that kind of health care program that I think is going to work , '' he said . So what makes Scheiner so special ? He was Obama 's personal physician for 22 years , and voted for the former Illinois senator in the 2008 presidential election . Scheiner thinks the president 's plan does n't go far enough . In his mind , the worst part of the proposal is that `` private insurers continue to be a part of the health scheme . '' Watch Scheiner talk about his objections » . `` Everybody keeps saying we do n't want the government involved in health care , '' Scheiner said in an interview . `` But the government is involved in Medicare , and it works . '' Scheiner would rather see the nation adopt a single-payer system like the ones in Canada and Europe . The financing system relies on one `` payer '' -- which could be a government-run agency -- to fund all health care costs billed by doctors , hospitals and other health professionals . The benefits , advocates say , is that pricey administrative costs are cut , resulting in large savings to patients . It 's something that an up-and-coming coming state Sen. Obama talked about six years ago . `` I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care plan . ... But as all of you know , we may not get there immediately , because first we 've got to take back the White House , and we 've got take back the Senate , and we 've got to take back the House , '' Obama said in 2003 . But that position evolved during the campaign . `` If I were designing a system from scratch , then I 'd probably set up a single-payer system . But the problem is we 're not starting from scratch , '' Obama said in Albuquerque , New Mexico , in August 2008 . Now , the president favors giving Americans the option of joining a government-run plan that would compete with private insurers . Watch more on the health care debate » . `` Nobody is talking about some government takeover of health care . I 'm tired of hearing that , '' Obama said in Raleigh , North Carolina , on Thursday . But Scheiner says that nobody has seen the details of that option , making it a hard sell for the president . `` We do n't even fully know what the public option is going to be . If the public option is too good , patients who are sick will flock to it , and I 'm not sure it will be able to support itself . '' Scheiner almost had a chance to confront the president with his concerns . He was invited to a recent televised town hall meeting with Obama , but he says he was dropped from the program . `` I just hope that the Congress , the American public and the president will hear some of my words , '' he said . `` We 've got to do something better . '' Scheiner finally had a chance to have his say Thursday . He and other doctors who support a single-payer system gathered in Washington to meet with lawmakers and rally supporters . He may not be the president 's doctor anymore , but Scheiner says he 's trying to save the patient before it 's too late . CNN 's Ed Hornick and Brittany Cummings contributed to this report .
Dr. Scheiner says president 's health care plan does n't go far enough . He 's worried that `` private insurers continue to be a part of the health scheme '' He 'd rather see the Canada have a single-payer system like those in U.S. , Obama . He says he was supposed to speak at Europe town hall but was dropped from it .