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NEUROSURGICAL PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES ASK MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO CO-SPONSOR HR 1304, THE "QUALITY HEALTH CARE COALITION ACT"
URGE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN HENRY HYDE (R-IL) TO REPORT BILL OUT OF COMMITTEE
WASHINGTON, DC -- The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) are urging Members of Congress to co-sponsor HR 1304, the "Quality Health Care Coalition Act of 1999," introduced by Representatives Tom Campbell (R-CA) and John Conyers (D-MI). This bipartisan legislation currently has 116 co-sponsors and is the subject of a House Judiciary Committee hearing today. The bill would allow physicians to jointly negotiate the terms and conditions of their contracts with health plans without violating the antitrust laws. Under the bill, a group of health care professionals engaged in negotiations with a health plan will be treated the same way under the antitrust laws as bargaining units are under the National Labor Relations Act. The bill will not permit physicians to collectively cease providing patient care services.
In the last few years, there has been an unprecedented consolidation in the health insurance industry, and according to a recent study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, only a few large insurers now dominate the health care market. Because they also benefit from a special exemption from the antitrust laws, health plans are in a position to engage in anti-competitive practices that are detrimental to patient care. For example, physicians are often presented contracts on a "take it or leave it" basis. These contracts include many restrictive provisions, which limit patient treatment options.
The AANS and CNS believe that the "Quality Health Care Coalition Act" responds to this anti-consumer practice by leveling the playing field between health plans and physicians so doctors can jointly negotiate contract provisions that promote quality health care for their patients, without violating the antitrust laws. "This bill lets doctors act in the best interests of their patients," said Martin H. Weiss, MD, President of the AANS. "The health care marketplace clearly needs fixing, and high on the repair list is the restoration of the power of physicians to practice their profession and care for patients as they see fit."
"This legislation is an important step in shifting medical decision making power away from health plans and back to physicians and patients, where it belongs," said Hunt Batjer, MD, President of the CNS. "This bill will help ensure that physicians and patients, not health insurance companies, will be the ones making medical decisions. We look forward to working with Chairman Hyde and urge him to report this bill out of committee."
The AANS, founded in 1931, and the CNS, founded in 1951, are the two largest scientific and educational associations for neurosurgical professionals in the world. These groups represent approximately 5,200 neurosurgeons in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and the Pacific Rim. Neurosurgery is the surgical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that affect the spine, brain, nervous system, and peripheral nerves.
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For additional information about the AANS and CNS visit our Web site at http://www.neurosurgery.org
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