The Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers whose companies represent more than 10 million employees and provide health care for more than 34 million Americans, testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee last week about the need for comprehensive health care reform.
"For Business Roundtable CEOs, health care costs are the number one cost pressure they face as employers. High health care costs are affecting job creation. High health care costs are hurting our ability to compete in global markets. And, high health care costs are straining the household incomes of many Americans and forcing them to go without health care coverage altogether," said Larry Burton, executive director, Business Roundtable.
Burton highlighted nine priorities of Business Roundtable's Health & Retirement Task Force. These priorities are:
- Continuing and expanding the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP);
- The removal of statutory and regulatory barriers to increased health insurance options for the uninsured;
- Promotion of wellness and prevention programs;
- Access to information on the cost and quality of health care;
- Development of a uniform, secure, interoperable health information technology infrastructure;
- The release of government information on the comparative effectiveness of all aspects of the health care delivery system;
- Federal reimbursement of health care providers based on quality performance;
- Consumer-centric health plans; and
- Reformed medical liability laws.
"The CEOs are joining with traditional and non-traditional partners in a "Call to Action," continued Burton. "We urge Congressional leaders to enact legislation to reduce costs by bringing 21st century technology to our health care system, as well as legislation that will provide all Americans with actionable information about the cost and quality of the health care services they need."
