HCLA supports impending vote on medical liability reform

The Health Coalition on Liability and Access today sent the following letters to Speaker John Boehner and Congressman Phil Gingrey, in support of the impending vote on medical liability reform:

March 16, 2012

The Honorable John Boehner
1011 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Boehner:

On behalf of the Health Coalition on Liability and Access (HCLA), we would like to express our support for the medical liability reform provisions included in H.R. 5, the Protecting Access to Healthcare Act. In particular, we support Title I of the bill - the "Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-Cost Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2012."

As you are aware, the HCLA is a national advocacy coalition of associations and businesses representing physicians and other health care providers, hospitals, health care liability insurers, employers, and health care consumers. We are dedicated to reforming our medical liability system to increase patient safety, ensure that injured patients are compensated quickly and fairly, improve provider-patient communications, and ensure affordable and accessible medical liability insurance. The broad alliance which makes up the HCLA ensures that we advocate for solutions to our medical liability problems that are designed to have the most comprehensive benefits to the entire health care community.

The HEALTH Act achieves all of these goals. This legislation adopts many of the reforms which have been thoroughly tested in the states and which have proven successful in improving the medical liability climate in those states.

These reforms will return fairness and equity to our medical liability system for patients and providers alike. In addition, as previously noted by the Congressional Budget Office, these reforms will bring significant budgetary savings to aid in the efforts to reduce our national deficit.

Again, we thank you for your leadership in seeking enactment of these important reforms and offer our endorsement of the HEALTH Act. If there is any way we may be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Mike Stinson
Chair, HCLA

Katie Orrico
Vice Chair, HCLA