ACP: Governmental Affairs and Public Policy - ACP Endorses the State-Based Health Care Reform Act

Advocacy

ACP Endorses the State-Based Health Care Reform Act

May 7, 2007

The Honorable Russ Feingold
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Lindsey Graham
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senators Feingold and Graham:

On behalf of the American College of Physicians (ACP), representing 120,000 internal medicine physicians and medical students, I am pleased to inform you that ACP supports your legislation, the “State-Based Health Care Reform Act” (S.1169), which would establish a pilot program for states to expand high quality health care coverage to the uninsured by testing state-based reforms. ACP is the largest medical specialty society and the second largest medical organization in the United States. We greatly appreciate your efforts to expand health insurance coverage for all Americans and to reform the U.S. health care system.

ACP has a long-standing commitment to evidence-based medicine and efforts to enhance the quality and effectiveness of health care. Encouraging innovation through state initiatives can help us move toward better health care in the U.S. ACP supports state-level innovations that seek to expand health insurance coverage, provide minimum standardized benefits and affordable coverage and decrease the administrative burden on physicians and other health care providers. ACP is therefore pleased to see that increasing health insurance coverage, improving quality and decreasing costs are at the heart of the “State-Based Health Care Reform Act.”

ACP is pleased to see that the legislation requires states to establish a core benefit package comparable to the package required by SCHIP, as individuals who have access to health insurance coverage may still experience barriers to needed services if the covered benefits are inadequate. Additionally, ACP applauds your effort to ensure that health care providers as well as chronically ill and uninsured consumers are represented on the Health Care Reform Task Force.

ACP believes that this legislation offers the country an opportunity to learn from innovative programs while controlling health care costs and maintaining a safety net of standardized minimum benefits and quality standards. ACP commends you for your leadership in introducing the “State-Based Health Care Reform Act”. We look forward to working with you to advance the goals of this important legislation.

Sincerely,

David C. Dale, MD, FACP