(Las Vegas, NV) – Citizen Outreach has joined a coalition of established conservative organizations that submitted a letter this week to House Speaker Paul Ryan in opposition to the misleadingly-named “Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017” (HR 1215).
Sponsored by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), the bill purports to establish “provisions governing health care lawsuits where coverage for the care was provided or subsidized by the federal government, including through a subsidy or tax benefit.”
What it actually does is over-ride state tort laws establishing caps on damages that are already set by more than 30 individual states, a number of which are enshrined in state constitutions.
“The power and authority to establish a universal, federal law dictating how much money can be paid out on a medical malpractice lawsuit isn’t found in the U.S. Constitution,” said Citizen Outreach President Chuck Muth. “HR 1215 undermines state authority and citizen prerogatives in contravention of the 10th Amendment and what our Founding Fathers intended.”
The coalition letter notes the Protecting Access to Care Act is being fast-tracked through the Republican-controlled House of Representatives “without hearing and with limited debate” and calls on the Speaker and other Members of Congress to reject the bill.
“Tort reform is a good idea,” concluded Muth. “Indeed, conservatives have been supportive of efforts to reign in medical lawsuit abuse for years.
“But there’s a right way and a wrong way to address this issue. And the right way in this case is the constitutional way; specifically, the 10th Amendment way.”
Conservative organizations joining Citizen Outreach in signing the coalition letter include Frontiers of Freedom, the Institute for Liberty, 60 Plus, Hispanic Leadership Fund, American Future Fund, Let Freedom Ring, Less Government, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, and the Institute for Policy Innovation.
Click here to read the full letter
Citizen Outreach is an IRS-authorized 501(c)(4) non-profit, non-partisan grassroots advocacy organization which promotes limited-government public policies and legislation
