Health Industry Coalition Urges Congress To Focus On the Uninsured, Rather Than Patients’ Rights

A coalition of health care industry executives has introduced a campaign to "persuade" Congress to provide health coverage for the 43 million uninsured Americans -- an issue coalition members see as "more important" than patients' rights, according to the Denver Business Journal. "It's time we get our priorities straight," Mary Grealey, president of the Healthcare Leadership Council, which launched its Health Access America campaign last week with a full-page ad in USA Today and a day of lobbying Congress. At a Capitol Hill press conference, coalition members expressed frustration that "giving lawyers access to the health care system is getting more attention from Congress than giving uninsured people access to medical treatment." Bruce Josten, executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said, "The uninsured deserve better than more mandates resulting in higher premiums and more frivolous litigation against employers who provide coverage to some 172 million." HLC supports legislation that would give states "more flexibility" in administering Medicaid and CHIP programs. In addition, the group advocates a proposal that would provide tax credits to businesses and individuals who purchase health coverage and will push for tax credits to be included in patients' rights legislation, according to Grealey. The Journal reports that Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) has said that adding tax credits to managed care reform would be "fiscally irresponsible" just weeks after Congress passed "the largest tax cut in history" (Hoover, Denver Business Journal, 6/18).