National Coalition's Upcoming Summit to Address Health System Costs and Reform
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a report on the expected growth in health care spending over the 10-year period 2007-17. The report, in the Feb. 26 issue of Health Affairs, estimates that costs will rise to $4.3 trillion annually in 2017, at a 6.7% average annual rate of increase, outpacing the growth rate of both the economy and general inflation.  
     
The report estimated 7.5% growth in the hospital sector in 2007, slowing to a 7.2% increase in 2008, and eventually falling to a 6.4% projected growth rate in 2017.
     
In response to these findings, the Partnership for Quality Care (PQC), whose founders include GNYHA and 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, issued a statement underscoring the need for a reformed health care system that ensures affordable, high-quality care for all Americans. An association of 1 million frontline health care workers and providers caring for 50 million patients annually, the PQC recommended that policymakers focus their efforts on investing in the efficient delivery of quality care. The PQC also highlighted the challenge that the uninsured present to the goal of containing costs while improving quality, as well as the fiscal sustainability of the providers that care for them.

Upcoming Summit: The PQC is hosting a summit in Washington, D.C. on Mar. 19, at which leading health care providers will discuss successful initiatives in restraining costs and increasing the quality of care. The speakers will include Kenneth E. Raske, President, GNYHA; George Halvorson, CEO, Kaiser Permanente; Andrew Stern, President, Service Employees International Union; Dennis Rivera, Chair, SEIU Healthcare; Thomas Glynn, COO, Partners Healthcare; Lloyd Dean, CEO, Catholic Healthcare West and Chair of the Catholic Health Association; Stuart Guterman, Commonwealth Foundation; Kenneth Thorpe, Chair, Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health; Mohammad Ahktar, M.D., President, National Medical Association; and Mitra Behroozi, MedPAC Commissioner and Executive Director, 1199 SEIU National Benefit Fund.