U.S. Chamber Sends Health Care Letter to Capitol Hill

Letter Signed By Businesses from All 50 States Expresses Concern With Current Job Killing Proposals

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today sent a letter signed by more than 1,500 state and local chambers of commerce, associations, and small businesses representing all 50 states expressing concern with the current health care proposals moving through Congress. The letter was sent to every Member of Congress.

"Current legislation will not lower costs – it will increase them," said Bruce Josten, executive vice president of Government Affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "The business community desperately wants reform but pending proposals fail our simple litmus test – will things be better or worse? Congress should go back to the drawing board and create comprehensive, bi-partisan health care reform."

The letter outlines the business community's dedication to improving the nation's health care system then explains how current legislation "would not improve the system, but jeopardize the parts of the system that currently work." It then outlines the three major concerns which include: a government-run plan that would increase costs and limit choice; an employer mandate that would kill jobs and lower wages; and a lack of any real effort to lower health care costs and "bend the cost curve."

The Chamber believes that the nation's health care system can be reformed for a fraction of the cost of current proposals, with a simple three-pronged approach.

1. The costs of health care must be reined in and the cost curve must be bent through the use of an "all of the above" strategy that incorporates dozens of bipartisan delivery and payment reform ideas.
2. The insurance system must be revamped to eliminate the use of pre-existing conditions, guarantee issue of coverage, and ensure fairness in premium costs.
3. A national, streamlined marketplace should be formed through a connector or exchange that makes shopping for health insurance simple.

Combined, these efforts would help cover the uninsured, get health care costs under control, improve health care quality, and level the playing field for individuals and small businesses.

A copy of the letter is available at: /chambers/090728_healthcare

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

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