Healthcare

The Wall Street Journal published this opinion article expressing the view of the Business Roundtable's view of ObamaCare. The article includes statements by Roundtable members such as, Ivan Seidenberg of Verizon saying, "The problem with the health-care market in this country is that it doesn't really function as a market—leaving major consumer needs unmet, costs unchecked by competition, and basic practices untouched by the productivity revolution that has transformed every other sector of the economy."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has released a document detailing health care reforms they support, and a document citing their concerns with the proposed health care legislation.

Pennsylvania's Secretary of Health, Everett James is encouraging businesses across the Commonwealth to enact Worksite Wellness Programs. This presentation titled, "Lowering Healthcare Costs Through Worksite Wellness" illustrates why these programs are so important and portrays just how effective they can be. 

Business Roundtable President, John J. Castellani, released this statement opposing inclusion of a public health care plan option in Senate health care reform legislation. Castellani states, "Taken together, these two effects will exacerbate the cost shift to businesses, providers and insurers alike, creating an unsustainable system.”

The Wall Street Journal published an article titled, "Pennsylvania Hospitals Show Better Care is Cheaper Care". In the article, author, Thomas M. Burton states, "Hospitals don't compete on price and rarely publish measurements of their quality, if they measure it at all. Except in Pennsylvania. The state has found that publishing results can prompt hospitals to improve, and that good medical treatment is often less expensive than bad care." This analysis of the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PCH4) also includes examples of how PCH4 positively affects Pennsylvania corporations insurance plans.

Do you not have time to read all 1017 pages of H.R. 3200? Volunteers from Hearthebill.org have created an audio version of H.R. 3200 that you can listen to on your time. Click here to be directed to the audio version of H.R. 3200.

HEALTH CARE SUMMIT MATERIALS

The Pennsylvania Business Council Education Foundation Health Care Summit was held on September 10, 2009. Below are materials that speakers used in their presentations.

Policy Impacts from Pharmaceutical Firms - Bruce Artim, Director of Federal Affairs, Eli Lilly

Policy Impacts from Employers - David Edman, Risk Management Partners LLC

Policy Impacts from Pharmaceutical Firms - Dennis M. Flynn, President, Pennsylvania Bio

Policy Impacts from Hospitals - Dr. Bruce H. Hamory M.D., Executive VP, Geisinger

Policy Impacts from Doctors - Dr. Robert, E. Harbaugh, Penn State Institute of Neurosugery

Policy Impacts from Business - Joyce Hess, Director of HR North American, Bentley Systems

National Health Care Reform - Christine Scullion, Director of Human Resources Policy, NAM

The Wall Street Journal published this editorial on September 8, 2009 by Dr. Richard B. Rafal, a radiologist in New York City entitled "A Doctor's Plan for Legal Reform Industry."  

A Report by State House News Service on Massachusetts Health Care Reform:

Only 26 percent of likely voters in Massachusetts believe health care reform has been a success and just 21 percent believe reform has made health care more affordable, according to newly released poll results.

The Rasmussen Reports poll of 500 likely Massachusetts voters, taken in April, also found only 10 percent said the quality of health care is getting better under the reform law rules here. Most of those polled on April 16, 2009 said they weren’t sure whether reform was a success or failure (37 percent), that there’s been no change in health care affordability under reform (44 percent) and that health care quality is about the same (53 percent). The poll was taken before talks stirred in Washington about a national health care reform push and before a wave of news in Massachusetts about difficulty affording the coverage expansions authorized under the 2006 reform law.

On May 20, 2009 the US Senate Finance Committee released this report entitled, "Financing Comprehensive Health Care Reform: Proposed Health System Savings and Revenue Options." Included in this report are sections outlining: health system savings, employer-based coverage options, revenue raisers, lifestyle related revenue raisers, and administrative proposals. 

Steve Wojcik, Vice President of Public Policy at the National Business Group on Health testified to the Senate Committee on Finance about "Financing Health Care Policy" on March 12, 2009. His testimony stressed responsible national spending as well as the importance of maintaining the integrity of employer-based health care in the United States. 

The PowerPoint summary of a study entitled The Economic Impact of Health Care in Northeastern PA published by BlueCross of Northeastern Pennsylvania Highmark BlueShield.  The study presents regional economic impact data showing the total number of direct, indirect and induced health care jobs in Northeastern PA among other topics.

The office of Governor Rendell released this budget briefing on "Caring for All Pennsylvanian's" on February 4th, 2009. The presentation outlines the necessity for a proposed $804 million expansion of health care across the state. The departments that presented the budget briefing were: the Department of Public Welfare, the Department of Aging and Long-Term Living, and the Pennsylvania Insurance Department on Expanding the adultBasic program. 

The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council ranked Pennsylvania's Health Care Policy Cost among the top ten in the United States. This study released on February 9th, 2009, ranked Pennsylvania ninth in the Health Care Cost Index. The index system used to rank the states was created by analyzing five key healthcare cost components:

    1. The number of mandates

    2. State regulations

    3. Health savings accounts

    4. Regulations pertaining to individual member costs

    5. Regulations pertaining to group or community member costs

The Economic Policy Institute released this briefing paper by Elise Gould on October 9th, 2008. Entitled, "The Erosion of Employer Sponsored Health Insurance" the study examined the decline of citizens receiving health insurance by their employer from 2000-2001 compared to 2006-2007. Included in the study are figures specific to Pennsylvania stating that employer sponsored health insurance of those 65 years of age and younger is down 5.7% from 2000-2001 to 2006-2007. The national average for this category was down 3.5%. However, those receiving employer sponsored health insurance regardless of age was only down 3.5% in Pennsylvania and was identical to the national average of 3.5%. Of those 18 years of age and younger, Pennsylvania was down 7.0% of those covered by employer sponsored health insurance compared to the national average of 5.6%.

Philadelphia's Quiet Crisis: The Rising Cost of Employee Benefits

The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Economy League commissioned this study to understand why pension and health care costs are expected to overwhelm Philadelphia’s budget in the near future, growing at a rate higher than inflation, to equal more than a quarter of spending by 2012.