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Major Business Groups Release Guide for Employers to Promote Value-Driven Health Care

February 2, 2007

Partnership for Value-driven Health Care Issues Actionable Information for Health Care Purchasers; Recommendations Follow HHS Four Cornerstones

For more information, contact:
Kat Song
[email protected]
202-292-6707

Washington, D.C. - The newly formed Partnership for Value-driven Health Care, a consortium of influential U.S. business groups, today announced the release of The Purchaser Guide to Value-driven Health Care, designed to help employers make value-driven health care a priority in purchasing health care services for employees. The Purchaser Guide contains actionable information that will help organizations meet U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt’s call last November for employers to implement four cornerstones of value-driven health care: utilize interoperable health information technology; measure and publish quality information; measure and publish price information; and, create positive incentives for high-quality, efficient health care.

The Purchaser Guide provides strategies that employers and other health care purchasers can employ to meet each of the Administration’s four cornerstones. The first section of the Guide is a quick reference section broken down by cornerstone; beneath each cornerstone is a list of actions purchasers can take and, where applicable, a list of existing initiatives. The second section provides detailed narratives about each of the cornerstones and the ways that purchasers can achieve their goals. The Guide is available at http://www.leapfroggroup.org/news/leapfrog_news/Purchaser_Guide.

Value-driven health care is about putting health care quality and cost information into the hands of consumers so they can make the choices that are right for them, said HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt. Most Americans get their health insurance through their employer or union that’s why it’s crucial for them to provide good information to their employees and members. The Purchaser Guide will help show purchasers how to make that happen. It’s an important service for employees and for our health care system.

Our nation’s employers understand that value-driven health care must be a priority in their purchasing decisions if we are to move toward a more efficient health care system, said John J. Castellani, President of Business Roundtable, the association of 160 chief executive officers which established the Partnership for Value-driven Health Care. This Guide provides the actionable information employers need to set this goal in motion.

Secretary Leavitt will be on this week’s America’s Business, a radio program that explores issues that shape manufacturing and business in the U.S. and abroad. Along with representatives from the NAM and The Leapfrog Group, Secretary Leavitt will discuss the employer’s role in paving the way towards high quality, affordable care and how the Purchaser Guide can help employers to achieve that goal. Visit www.nam.org/americasbusiness for station details or to hear the interview.

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About the Partnership for Value-driven Health Care
The Partnership for Value-driven Health Care was formed in late 2006 in response to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt’s call for employers to implement four cornerstones of value-driven health care. The Partnership, established by Business Roundtable, is comprised of American Benefits Council, Bridges to Excellence, Corporate Health Care Coalition, The ERISA Industry Committee, HR Policy Association, The Leapfrog Group, National Association of Manufacturers, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, National Business Coalition on Health, National Business Group on Health, National Federation of Independent Businesses, National Retail Federation, Society for Human Resource Management, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

All rights reserved. BTE 2007.

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