The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Speaker United House of Representatives
The Honorable John Boehner Minority Leader United House of Representatives
Dear Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Boehner:
The undersigned state and national specialty medical societies -- representing more than 85,000 physicians and the millions of patients they serve -- are writing to oppose passage of the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" (H.R. 3590) by the House of Representatives.
The changes that were recently proposed by President Obama do not address our many concerns with this legislation, and we therefore urge you to draft a more patient-centered bill that will reform the country's flawed system for financing healthcare, while preserving the best healthcare in the world. While we agree that the status quo is unacceptable, shifting so much control over medical decisions to the federal government is not justified and is not in our patients' best interest. We are therefore united in our resolve to achieve health system reform that empowers patients and preserves the practice of medicine -- without creating a huge government bureaucracy.....