Rather, it is the responsibility of health care professionals, government, employers and patients to partner together to develop ways to minimize medical errors. Any solution must marry quality improvement with liability reform and regulatory simplification. A recent study by the Congressional Budget Office estimates that H.R. 1304, or its' equivalent, will result in direct costs and loss of revenue for the federal government of 6.1 billion over the 2001-2010 period. Additionally, the CBO report has estimated that if enacted, this type of legislation will increase private insurance expenditures by as much as 1.5 percent. Because every one percent increase in premiums results in the loss of health coverage for 200,000 to 400,000 people, it will add about 300,000 to 600,000 Americans to the list of the 44 million uninsured.
Competition helps contain costs, expand consumer choice and foster innovation.
H.R.1304 will legalize the formation of provider cartels, price fixing activities and boycotting by health professionals, and will undermine healthcare quality and patient choice. Proposals such as the Norwood-Dingell bill will have negative consequences on the health care system, causing employers to reduce or eliminate health benefits and increase the number of Americans without health insurance.