On May 11, GNYHA President Kenneth E. Raske and other health industry representatives met with President Barack Obama and his key staff at the White House to discuss health care reform. At the meeting, the industry leaders presented a letter to President Obama signed by the presidents or chairs of six national organizations—the American Hospital Association (AHA), the American Medical Association (AMA), America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), and the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed). In the letter, the organizations said, “we have joined together in an unprecedented effort, as private sector stakeholders—physicians, hospitals, other health care workers, payors, suppliers, manufacturers, and organized labor—to offer concrete initiatives that will transform the health care system. As restructuring takes hold and the population’s health improves over the coming decade, we will do our part to achieve your Administration’s goal of decreasing by 1.5 percentage points the annual health care spending growth rate—saving $2 trillion or more.”  
     
The meeting was the result of many weeks of discussions among industry representatives, originally convened by Dennis Rivera, Chair of SEIU Healthcare. In response to the letter and the meeting, President Obama wrote a letter to the group in which he said, “I appreciate the commitment you have made to health care reform by pledging to do your part to reduce our Nation’s annual health care spending growth rate by 1.5 percentage points…Getting spiraling health care costs under control is essential to providing all Americans with affordable, quality care, making our businesses more competitive, and closing our budget deficits—so I will hold you to your pledge to get this done. As we discussed in our meeting yesterday, I would like you to update my Administration by early June on the progress you have made toward fulfilling this important commitment.” 
     
Also attending the meeting were Director of the White House Office of Health Reform Nancy-Ann DeParle; Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius; White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel; Dr. Christina Romer, Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors; Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag; Director of the National Economic Council Lawrence Summers; and Patrick Gaspard, White House Political Director.
The group of industry leaders will now work to put together more concrete proposals to meet the goals articulated in the letter to the President.