House Delivers on Health Week

July 28, 2005

Pryce Supports Measures to Increase Access to High Quality, Affordable Health Care

Washington , DC – House Republicans took bold steps this week – “Health Week” -- to deliver on their promise to increase access to high quality, affordable health care for all Americans. On Wednesday and Thursday, Congresswoman Deborah Pryce voted in favor of measures to implement medical justice, help small businesses provide insurance to their employees, and improve patient safety.

“While we as a nation continue to enjoy the greatest health care system on the planet, far too many Americans remain uninsured,” Pryce said. “Our efforts this week will help thousands of Americans enjoy the protections and peace of mind of affordable health insurance.”

Malpractice insurance costs for doctors continue to plague our nation’s health care system, drive doctors out of Ohio to states with lower premiums, and contribute to escalating costs throughout our health care industry.

To combat this problem, the House passed H.R. 5, the “Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-Cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act,” which will preserve patients’ ability to seek recompense in the courts, while capping non-economic and punitive damages at $250,000.

“The HEALTH Act will help reduce the pervasive and profound burden excessive litigation places upon our health care industry, and will improve patient care by curbing doctors’ need to practice defensive medicine,” said Pryce. “Because of the stifling costs of malpractice insurance, Ohio continues to lose specialty doctors and OBGYNs to early retirement and migration to other states. The HEALTH Act properly balances preserving the patients’ right for damages with allowing doctors to continue in their noble trade.”

The House also passed H.R. 525, the Small Business Health Fairness Act, to enable small businesses to pool their purchasing power in association health plans (AHPs) to buy health insurance for their employees, thereby allowing economies of scale to bring the costs down.

“Sixty percent of America’s uninsured work for small businesses, and small business owners care about the health and safety of their employees. This bill will make give the mom and pop store owners the insurance purchasing power of the big companies.”

The House also passed the following:

S. 544 -- Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 - - Provides a network of patient safety organizations that will analyze data so that patient safety is improved and the incidence of events that adversely affect patient safety are reduced.

H.R. 3204 -- The State High Risk Pool Funding Extension Act of 2005 -- Will help people obtain affordable health insurance policies. The bill authorizes federal grant money to support the operation of high-risk pools and provide health insurance for individuals who have been unable to purchase coverage due to pre-existing conditions, chronic illnesses or conditions that make them too expensive to insure.

The measures passed during Health Week build on a significant health-related bill Pryce authored that was recently signed into law by President Bush. The Patient Navigator, Outreach, and Chronic Disease Prevention Act will help individuals in underserved areas navigate the health care system by putting in place patient navigators in community health centers, rural health facilities, or other entities.

Congresswoman Pryce represents the Fifteenth District of Ohio, which includes Western Franklin County, Madison, and Union Counties. She serves as Chairman of the House Republican Conference for the 109th Congress, making her the fourth ranking member of House leadership. The Congresswoman also co-chairs the Cancer Caucus.