Transparency Needed In Health Care Negotiations

Press Release

Members of Congress are stepping up efforts to make health care negotiations public and open to the media. The Doctors Caucus has offered Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius the opportunity to testify before members during a hearing about the current health care negotiations.

As a select group of lawmakers meet behind closed doors hammering out a health care bill that will impact all Americans, little is known about the nearly month-long discussion and the results of the talks. The Majority leaders have the opportunity to show Americans the status of the final health care bill and explain provisions in the legislation.

Congressman John Boozman (R-AR) and the 12 other members of the Doctors Caucus will hold "Open Doors: Shining the Light on the Health care Debate," a hearing open to the public. On Thursday, January 21, witnesses will testify about their analysis of the current bills and the effects on families, including: the excise tax, public option, employer-sponsored plans, physician workforce shortages, and Medicare cuts.

"As a health care provider and member of the Doctors Caucus I am extremely disappointed that I haven't been invited to participate in health care negotiations. I have worked to organize a hearing to invite key lawmakers involved in drafting the final health care bill the opportunity to tell us all what is happening behind the closed doors. Unfortunately, they've turned the invitation down. I am continuing to work with the ideas Arkansans have suggested and am ready to give them to Speaker Pelosi should she open the doors to the health care talks," Boozman said.

The Doctors Caucus, a group of 13 members of the House of Representatives with backgrounds in the health care profession, has spent the 111th Congress offering solutions to contain health care costs by opening up competition to insurers across state lines, allowing individuals to own their health plans and allowing small businesses to pool their resources and join associated health care plans.

Boozman also called for transparency by signing a discharge petition for House Resolution 847 to force a floor vote requiring public access to health care negotiations.

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