FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Statement by the Health Benefits Coalition

on Kennedy-Dingell-Norwood Vote in the Senate

Washington, DC, June 8, 2000 — We commend those senators who by voting against the Kennedy-Dingell-Norwood bill today chose to stand with the hard-working families and employers who pay for health care – not with rich trial lawyers who would profit from new health care lawsuits.

The Kennedy-Dingell-Norwood bill would turn our health care system into a litigation lottery, subjecting employers to costly, open-ended lawsuits that would force many to drop health insurance for their employees altogether. Rather than "protecting" patients, the Kennedy-Dingell-Norwood bill would leave millions "unprotected," without any health insurance at all.

By voting to defeat the Kennedy-Dingell-Norwood bill, these senators again defended the health benefits of more than 160 million Americans as well as the employers – large and small – who voluntarily provide those benefits to workers and their families.

The Health Benefits Coalition is a broad-based organization representing three million employers providing health care coverage to more than 100 million employees and families. The coalition believes affordable, quality health care is best achieved through broader coverage, choice and competition in the marketplace – not government mandates.