NATION IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Surgeons’ Group Rejects Clinton Plan

A group representing thousands of surgeons turned its back on the Clinton health care plan, favoring instead a system in which the government would pay most medical bills. The American College of Surgeons, which has 60,000 members, announced its stand at a hearing of a House Education and Labor subcommittee, saying a so-called single-payer system would be more efficient, simpler and better for doctors and patients. The group did not endorse the single-payer health plan pending before Congress, saying it would give states too much control.