Letter to the Honorable James Greenwood regarding Support for H.R. 4280, the "Health Act of 2004"
May 6, 2004
The Honorable James Greenwood
U.S. House of Representatives
2436 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
RE: Support for H.R. 4280, the "HEALTH Act of 2004."
Dear Representative Greenwood:
On behalf of the American College of Physicians (ACP), representing 115,000 internal medicine physicians and medical students, I want to thank you for introducing H.R. 4280, the "Help Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely Health Care Act of 2004." 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 reimbursement 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 the continuation of escalating rates will significantly reduce patient access to medical care. In fact, we know that physician offices and emergency rooms and trauma centers have already begun closing their doors due to the exorbitant costs. Evidence suggests that the health care liability crisis has resulted in many patients not receiving or delaying much-needed medical care.
We strongly believe that H.R. 4280 offers common sense solutions that have been proven effective to help safeguard patient access to care while controlling the cost of liability insurance premiums. Again, I want to thank you for your efforts, and I look forward to working with you in the future.
Sincerely,
Charles K. Francis, MD, FACP
President
Page posted: 05/13/2004
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