REPUBLICAN POLICY COMMITTEE MEMBERS

HON. STANLEY E. SAYLOR HON. SCOTT BOYD

CHAIRMAN HON. JOHN EVANS
HON. SETH GROVE
HEALTH CARE TASK FORCE HON. THOMAS KILLION
HON. KATHARINE WATSON HON. TINA PICKETT
HON. BRYAN CUTLER HON. DOUG REICHLEY
CO-CHAIRS PA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HON. CURT SCHRODER
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA HON. RANDY VULAKOVICH
REP. MATTHEW BAKER
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES CHAIRMAN

REP. NICHOLAS A. MICOZZIE

INSURANCE CHAIRMAN

September 25, 2009

Barack Obama
The President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We listened with interest to your recent speech to the Congress concerning your views on federal
health care reform. You stated, “If you come to me with a serious set of proposals, I will be there to
listen. My door is always open.” You reiterated that invitation and your willingness to work in a
bi-partisan manner seeking solutions, during your appearances on several news shows televised this
past weekend.

We are not members of Congress, but as state representatives in the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania, we can tell you that we saw the need for health care reform back in 2007 and formed
a Task Force to study this multi-faceted problem. We researched the subject with constituents and
stakeholders statewide, before expanding our research nationwide. We even interviewed those who
participate in health care plans in other countries to see what worked and what didn’t. Based on
countless hours of research and interviews we then developed a legislative package of bills to lower
the cost of health care for all Pennsylvanians and expand access to health care to those who are
uninsured. We have been advocating these principles for the last two legislative sessions.

We are writing to share our ideas with you based on your invitation “to listen”. We want to share
our ideas in the hope that you will make Pennsylvania a demonstration project worthy of national
attention and hopefully, duplication. We believe our solutions are in keeping with your self-
described guiding principle “that consumers do better when there is choice and competition.”

Mr. President, our plan is based on free market competition which will lower health care costs. Our
plan is not implemented by raising taxes and causing additional stress to middle class families
already struggling. We have created a model suitable for our current economy, so that even if a
person loses his/her job, he/she will be assured access to health care.

HOUSE BOX 202094 | HARRISBURG, PA 17120 | (717) 783-6426 | WWW.PAGOPPOLICY.COM

President Obama
Page 2
September 25, 2009

Please allow us to briefly highlight the scope of our plan:

PA BasicCare - (Killion) Amendment A01387 to House Bill 1

� Provides an affordable, low-cost insurance product.

adultBasic Retool - (Mustio) Amendment 01393 to House Bill 1

� Allows more Pennsylvanians access to the adultBasic program by
establishing a sliding scale premium based on income and requires the department
to verify eligibility every six months and utilize rolling enrollment procedures.

Health Information Technology - (Cutler) Amendment 01397 to House Bill 1

� Uses the one-time federal stimulus funds as a source of funding grants to
bring technology online for the prevention of medical errors and greater
efficiency.

E-Prescribing - (Baker) Amendment A01398 to House Bill 1

� Requires health care facilities throughout the Commonwealth to utilize an
electronic prescribing system.

Health Care through Clinics - (Watson) Amendment A01379 to House Bill 1

� Invests $25 million for the expansion of Federally Qualified Health
Centers, hospital based clinics, free clinics, etc. to increase access to primary and
prenatal care. Also provides a medical and dental home and helps to lower the
cost of care.

Dental Provider Incentive – (Saylor) Amendment 01399 to House Bill 1

� Provides a supplemental salary to recent dental graduates who dedicate a
percentage of their practice to treating Medical Assistance (MA) patients. Helps
to bring dentists into communities with a need.

Cost Transparency - (Stern)

� Re-enacts the PA Health Care Cost Containment Council and requires the
council to publish the medical charges and reimbursement rates for Medicaid,
CHIP and adultBasic, which helps to allow consumers to make
informed decisions regarding their health care. Also helps to keep the market
competitive and reign in the cost of care.

Employer Tax Credit - (Boyd) Amendment A01404 to House Bill 1

� Provides a $1,000 per employee tax credit for small business owners (less
than 50 employees) who provide health insurance to their employees. A one-year
clawback would require employers to pay back the amount received if they drop
insurance coverage. This encourages employers to provide health care for their
employees and prevent crowd-out, whereby employers stop providing health
insurance.
President Obama
Page 3
September 25, 2009

Individual Tax Credit - (Vulakovich) Amendment A01405 to House Bill 1

� Provides a $1,000 tax credit to individuals who purchase health insurance
if their employer does not provide such coverage.

Chronic Disease Control Tax Credit - (Reichley) Amendment A01403 to House

Bill 1
� Provides a $500 per employee tax credit for small business owners (less
than 50 employees) who purchase and provide a disease management program.

Allied Health Professional Loan Forgiveness - (Baker) Amendment 01406 to

House Bill 1
� Provides student loan repayment to qualified recent allied health
professional graduates who practice full time in designated shortage areas.

Peer Review - (Cutler)

� Extends protections from suit to persons who hand over information
relating to the conduct of medical professionals who are reviewed by health
facility credentialing committees. Individuals who provide information or
services are provided whistleblower protections.

Benevolent Gesture - (Gillespie) Amendment A01391 to House Bill 1

� Establishes an admission made by a health care provider to a patient, or
their representative, regarding the patient’s discomfort, pain, suffering, injury or
death resulting from a medical treatment shall be inadmissible as evidence of
liability if made before commencement of any legal action.

Securitization of MCARE Unfunded Liabilities - (Schroder) Amendment

A01374 to House Bill 1
� Secures the entire balance of the Health Care Provider
Retention Account for use of paying off MCARE liabilities.

In your speech, you also stated that you propose moving forward on medical malpractice reform.
Pennsylvania’s 12 million citizens represent a wide demographic that we believe makes the
Commonwealth an excellent state for a demonstration project. Our bi-partisan Senate and House
have passed tort reform legislation twice, only to have it vetoed by Governor Rendell. We ask
that your Secretary of Health and Human Services strongly consider Pennsylvania for one or
more of these initiatives.
President Obama
Page 4
September 25, 2009

We are very passionate about real health care reform and we know that all Americans have a
stake in this issue. The group of legislators that has worked on this legislative package are from
all across the Commonwealth and represent distinctly different regions. Yet we believe that the
components of this proposal will benefit every resident. We are more than willing to work with
your Administration on health care reform for our Commonwealth and our great nation. We
recognize that you may not approve of every suggestion offered, but we are also open to
suggestions that may help us find an agreement in principle while we work out the details of the
legislation. We look forward to hearing from you on our solutions to America’s growing health
care crisis, and would be honored to meet with you to discuss the healthcare crisis and possible
solutions. Together we can, and must, make progress on one of the greatest issues of our time.
We believe that by working together we can use Pennsylvania as a demonstration project to
show that health care reform can rise above politics and be based only on what is best for those
we live with, work with, and serve.

Very truly yours,

Rep. Stan Saylor, Rep. Katharine Watson,

(R-York, Policy Chairman) (R-Bucks, Co-Chair)

Rep. Bryan Cutler, Rep. Matthew Baker,

(R-Lancaster, Co-Chair) (R-Tioga, Health & Human Services Chairman)

Rep. Nicholas A. Micozzie Rep. Scott Boyd, (R-Lancaster)

(R-Delaware, Insurance Chairman)

Rep. John Evans, (R-Erie) Rep. Seth Grove, (R-York)

Rep. Tom Killion (R-Delaware) Rep. Tina Pickett (R-Bradford, Sullivan)

President Obama
Page 5
September 25, 2009

Rep. Doug Reichley (R-Lehigh) Rep. Randy Vulakovich (R-Allegheny)

cc: The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius

Mr. Rahm Emanuel
Mr. David Axelrod
Senator Arlen Specter
Senator Robert Casey
PA Congressional Delegation