Dear Senators Blunt and Kirk:
Business Roundtable (BRT) strongly supports medical liability reform so we are pleased to announce our support of S. 1099, the “Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2011.” Business Roundtable is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with nearly $6 trillion in annual revenues and more than 13 million employees. BRT member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock market and invest more than $114 billion annually in research and development – nearly half of all private U.S. R&D spending. Our companies pay more than $179 billion in dividends to shareholders and generate an estimated $1.5 trillion in sales for small businesses annually. BRT companies give nearly $9 billion a year in combined charitable contributions.
Business Roundtable companies provide health coverage to more than 35 million Americans. As such, we play a significant role in helping American workers and their families remain healthy or receive treatment when necessary. U.S. medical liability laws need to be reformed, and we commend you for your efforts to address this important and costly issue.
Business Roundtable CEOs consistently cite rising medical care costs as their number-one cost pressure. These costs are inhibiting job creation and damaging our ability to compete in global markets. Medical care costs are also putting a strain on the household budgets of many Americans. When medical liability reform was left out of the health care reform law, Congress missed an opportunity to both reduce the rate of health care spending and provide assurance to patients that they will not lose access to necessary medical care.
With President Obama earlier this year citing his willingness to look at “…medical malpractice reforms,” prospects for reform should be better than in recent years. Business Roundtable believes reforms to our medical liability system have the potential to improve access to care, reduce the rising costs of defensive medicine and liability coverage and reassure individuals who may be harmed as a result of medical negligence that they will still be protected.
Business Roundtable also believes there is a need to further develop alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve claims faster and to ensure that those who are victims of malpractice get relief and get to keep more of that relief.
Tort reform also should reinforce the use of appropriate medical practice guidelines, as developed by national professional organizations or other similarly qualified organizations. If the guidelines are followed by a physician, then that should act as a complete defense to a malpractice action.
Finally, we need to inform consumers. Consumers need information on the costs of health care and the quality of the care that their provider has given in the past. Providers who publicly report this information should be protected from liability in future litigation.
Business Roundtable looks forward to working with you to achieve passage of this important legislation that will lower health care costs and strengthen our economic competitiveness.
Sincerely,
John Engler