Medical Professional Organizations' Views on Legislative, Regulatory, and Other Issues: Health System Reform

ACS Views on Legislative, Regulatory, and Other Issues: Health System Reform:

Since November 1, 2004, representatives (one elected leader and one staff person) from 11 physician organizations have held three health reform summits, with the goal of developing consensus on approaches that might lead to health care coverage for all, control of exploding health care costs, and sensible adjustments to America’s medical justice system.

Participating organizations included:

• American Academy of Family Physicians
• American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• American College of Cardiology
• American College of Emergency Physicians
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
• American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians
• American College of Physicians
• American College of Surgeons
• American Medical Associatio
• American Osteopathic Association
  
  The Board of Directors of 10 of the 11 participating organizations approved the final set of “Principles for Reform of the U.S. Health Care System”; the AAP did not sign on.
  
  The goal when signing on to the principles was for each organization to be able to say: “These principles are consistent with our organization’s policy, and therefore we support them.”

Now is the time for the organizations to begin discussions about how we might wish to introduce these important principles to various external audiences — key decision makers, policy makers, the media — and to consider any other "next steps" that we might consider regarding this important issue.
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1.Health care coverage for all is needed to ensure quality of care and to improve the health status of Americans.
2.The health care system in the U.S. must provide appropriate health care to all people within the U.S. borders, without unreasonable financial barriers to care.
3.Individuals and families must have catastrophic health coverage to provide protection from financial ruin.

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6. Access to and financing for appropriate health services must be a shared public/private cooperative effort, and a system which will allow individuals/employers to purchase additional services or insurance.

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11.Comprehensive medical liability reform is essential to ensure access to quality health care.

This was news to me, and it is something to build on...

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