Hospital Cost Containment Legislation Letter to the Chairmen of Three Congressional Subcommittees.

One of my most important priorities is to secure strong legislation to restrain the skyrocketing increase in health care costs. As subcommittees in both the House and Senate prepare to resume their work in this area, I wish to reaffirm my strong personal commitment to the Administration's Hospital Cost Containment legislation.

Last month, HEW announced that it was required to increase the deductible for hospital coverage under Medicare from $12.4 to $144, reflecting rising hospital costs. These rising costs affect not only the elderly, but all Americans. Today, 95,000 Americans will enter community hospitals. By the time they leave the hospital, their care will have cost $124 million. Our people already spend more for health care than the people of any other nation--yet the cost of that care doubles every five years. The American people simply cannot afford yearly increases in their hospital bills of 15% and more.

The Administration's Hospital Cost Containment bill will restrain this escalation in hospital costs. It will save billions of dollars--not only in Federal and State budgets, but in the budgets of American families as well. This legislation is important in our twin efforts to restrain inflation and improve the quality of health care for all Americans.

I deeply appreciate your leadership to this date.

Sincerely,

JIMMY CARTER