Dr. Christopher Lillis is an excellent physician; that is why I am so disappointed in his article on inappropriate medical testing ["Too many needless tests drive up cost of health care," Jan. 6].

In the entire article he never mentioned once the most important factor driving the number of medical tests up--defensive medicine. Without tort reform there will never be a reduction in "unnecessary" medical testing that keeps lawsuits from happening.

Nowhere in the Affordable Care Act is there any mention of tort reform. Not mentioning defensive medicine in an article on medical testing is like discussing the Apollo space program without once mentioning NASA.

Thomas Officer

Spotsylvania