ACP: Governmental Affairs and Public Policy - Thank you letter to Pfizer, Inc. Responding to the Company's Vision for Health Care Reform

Advocacy

Thank you letter to Pfizer, Inc. Responding to the Company's Vision for Health Care Reform

August 30, 2004
Henry A. McKinnell
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Pfizer, Inc.
235 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017-5755

Dear Mr. McKinnell:

On behalf of the American College of Physicians (ACP), I want to thank you for providing us with a copy of your speech, "Healthier Americans, Wealthier America," outlining Pfizer's vision for health care reform. ACP is the largest medical specialty society in the United States, representing 115,000 doctors of internal medicine and medical students. ACP commends Pfizer's effort to address the nation's major health care challenges, particularly expanding coverage to the uninsured, strengthening the health care safety net, lowering health care costs, and improving overall quality of care. These are all goals that ACP shares.

As an organization representing both primary care physicians and sub-specialists, we also share your interest in promoting prevention, wellness, early detection, and early treatment. In our white paper, "The Cost of the Lack of Health Insurance," ACP acknowledges the substantial physical and economic benefits of timely access to quality care, as well as the cost of disease, disability, and the lack of health insurance. Therefore, we agree with your statement that to understand the value of prevention and treatment, one must look beyond the cost of care to "the value of good health, and the terrifying cost of disease." Likewise, ACP is committed to reducing bureaucratic red tape and burdensome regulations, making prescription drugs more affordable, and reforming the medical liability system by limiting inappropriate awards for non-economic damages and ensuring rapid and fair compensation for those who are injured.

We are glad to see that Pfizer also promotes the use of tax benefits and the strengthening of safety net programs to enable more Americans to obtain health insurance coverage. The College has developed its own proposal for a step-by-step expansion of health insurance coverage for all Americans within seven years that combines tax credits with new options for states to expand safety net programs without incurring unfunded federal mandates. This proposal is now reflected in the bipartisan HealthCARE Act of 2003 (S. 1030/H.R. 2402), introduced by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and by Representatives Steve LaTourette (R-OH) and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH). The bill gives states new options to expand Medicaid based solely on need-based income determinations with advance, refundable income tax credits to subsidize the purchase of health insurance by individuals and families with incomes at or below 200% of poverty. Another step involves creation of market-based health insurance pools, modeled after the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, through which premium subsidy recipients and small businesses would have the option to purchase private group coverage. We believe this combination of safety net improvements, tax credits, and purchasing pools is the most effective way to expand health insurance coverage.

ACP applauds Pfizer for emphasizing the need for an information-driven, incentivized health care system. ACP recently released a series of papers examining how health care can move forward on quality improvement and physician performance measures while building the necessary infrastructure for national electronic health records (see www.acponline.org). New technologies and performance standards help physicians improve quality by giving them immediate access to evidence-based clinical tools, reducing the amount of time that physicians and their staffs spend on administrative tasks, and allowing them to devote more time to patient care.

ACP strongly encourages voluntary adoption of advances in health information technology, which we feel is critical for physicians managing patients as they transit through different health care settings. ACP has developed a highly regarded real-time point-of-care clinical decision support tool, the Physicians' Information and Education Resource (PIER), which aids physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of hundreds of conditions and also offers educational support to patients. This technology is designed to assure that physicians follow clinical best practices, which should foster improved clinical outcomes, higher quality of care, increased patient satisfaction, and reduced overall costs to the health care system. Furthermore, ACP believes that physicians should share in the financial incentives for managing care effectively based on accepted performance measures and the voluntary adoption of new information technology. ACP agrees with Pfizer that incentives are an important way to promote healthy behavior among patients, but they are also a useful tool for encouraging quality care among physicians.

ACP is pleased to see that many of the provisions offered in Pfizer's plan to reform health care in the United States are consistent with positions taken by the College. ACP welcomes future opportunities to work with Pfizer to guarantee that all Americans have equal access to affordable, quality health care.

Sincerely,

Charles Francis, MD, FACP, FACC
President