ACP: Governmental Affairs and Public Policy - Letter to Representative Gingrey in Suppor of H.R. 5, the "Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (Health) Act of 2005"

Advocacy

Letter to Representative Gingrey in Suppor of H.R. 5, the "Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (Health) Act of 2005"

July 15, 2005

The Honorable Phil Gingrey
U.S. House of Representatives
119 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative Gingrey:

On behalf of the American College of Physicians (ACP), representing 119,000 internal medicine physicians and medical students, I want to thank you for introducing H.R. 5, the “Help Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely Health Care Act of 2004.” ACP is the largest medical specialty society and the second largest medical organization in the United States. We greatly appreciate your efforts on behalf of physicians to reduce the cost of medical malpractice insurance.

Physicians across the nation continue to struggle paying their medical liability insurance premiums. Doctors of internal medicine are especially hit hard because their premiums have increased at a much higher rate than any other medical specialty. Coupled with lower Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, declining fees from managed care, and the ever-increasing regulatory burdens physicians face, internists are being forced to decide whether to pay the steeper bill, change carriers, move out of state, or retire from the practice of medicine altogether.

We believe that this continuation of escalating rates will significantly reduce patient access to medical care. In fact, we know that physician offices, emergency rooms and trauma centers have already begun closing their doors due to the exorbitant costs. Many physicians are limiting their practices in order to afford the higher premiums. This is strong evidence that the health care liability crisis has resulted in many patients not receiving or delaying much-needed medical care.

ACP strongly believes that H.R. 5 offers common sense solutions that have been proven effective to help safeguard patient access to care while controlling the cost of medical liability insurance premiums. We are urging all Members of the U.S. House of Representatives to support passage of this bill. Again, thank you for your efforts on behalf of physicians, and I look forward to working with you in the future.

Sincerely,

C. Anderson Hedberg, M.D., FACP
President