U.S. Chamber Of Commerce President Outlines Health Care Agenda For 2008

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 10 Jan 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue on Tuesday in his annual "State of American Business" speech included discussion of the group's health care agenda in 2008, CQ HealthBeat reports.

The goals as outlined by Donohue's speech and an accompanying report include:

• Supporting federal preemption legislation that only allows states to file lawsuits against pharmaceutical and medical device companies for products regulated by FDA in federal courts and under federal law;
  
  
• Backing requirements for physicians to use electronic prescribing;
  
  
• Pushing for federal measures to allow for the creation of Small Business Health Plans (SBHPs), which would allow small businesses to pool their employees to provide group health insurance coverage; and
  
  
• Opposing legislation that would revise the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, establish price controls on prescription drugs and require paid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
  

Donohue declined to address the health care proposals of any of the presidential candidates specifically. However, he said that, although "some believe the answer to these challenges is Washington-run health care," such a proposal "is not the answer" supported by the chamber (Nylen, CQ HealthBeat, 1/8).

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