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.
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