title: Response to the Institute of Medicine's recommendation that cost determine insurance policies' "essential benefits".
abstract: An open letter to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, signed by 2,425 individuals, including 1,280 U.S. physicians, protests the recommendations of an Institute of Medicine committee on the "essential benefits package" to be offered by health plans under the 2010 federal health reform act. The letter also criticizes conflicts of interest in the Institute of Medicine committee, which includes executives from two of the nation's largest health insurance firms and a major donor to the Institute.
authors.affiliation: Physicians for a National Health Program, Chicago, IL 60602, USA. dhimmels@hunter.cuny.edu
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Himmelstein
mesh_terms: D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006287:Health Planning Guidelines; D006801:Humans; D007342:Insurance Benefits / Q000191:economics*; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics*; D015969:National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, U.S., Health and Medicine Division; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D011639:Public Opinion; D014481:United States