Greater Cleveland Partnership, COSE support transparency for healthcare consumers

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Cleveland - The Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP), and the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE), yesterday agreed to support value-driven healthcare, an initiative of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt.

"We have to come together to help change our current system, that means both small and large business, providers, insurers, consumers…discussions like this are imperative if we are going to make any positive changes," says Lou Licata, COSE Chairman.  "There are a lot of things we have to do to change the system, but starting with some of the basic principles found in Secretary Leavitt's plan should help jumpstart this region into thinking proactively about providing accessible, affordable quality health care."

During a speech at the City Club of Cleveland, Secretary Leavitt discussed value-driven health care and the need to motivate America's health-care system to provide better care for less money.   He invited employers to review the four "cornerstone" actions and sign the statement of support to commit to helping make health care quality and cost information available for their own health plan enrollees.  Representatives from GCP and COSE joined the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Eaton Corp., Parker Hannifin, Sherwin-Williams and others to sign the pledge.

"I am proud that leading Ohio employers are choosing to support these four cornerstones to achieve better health care and better value for employees and their families," Secretary Leavitt said. "Until now, it has not been possible for patients to learn in advance about the quality of care they can expect to receive from a provider, or the cost of the services they will incur. By making this information available, employers can help their employees get better care and better value in health care."

The four cornerstones of high-value healthcare are:

  • Connect the System: Every medical provider has some system for health records. Increasingly, those systems are electronic. Standards need to be identified so all health information systems can quickly and securely communicate and exchange data.
  • Measure and Publish Quality: Every case, every procedure, has an outcome. Some are better than others. To measure quality, we must work with doctors and hospitals to define benchmarks for what constitutes quality care.
  • Measure and Publish Price: Price information is useless unless cost is calculated for identical services. Agreement is needed on what procedures and services are covered in each "episode of care."
  • Create Positive Incentives: All parties - providers, patients, insurance plans, and payers - should participate in arrangements that reward both those who offer and those who purchase high-quality, competitively-priced health care.

More information is available on the HHS website: http://www.hhs.gov/transparency/

The Greater Cleveland Partnership, the primary voice for businesses in Greater Cleveland, seeks to create jobs and wealth, and improve the economic vitality of the region. Its priorities include technology, innovation and high-growth businesses; connected physical development; education and workforce development; and business attraction, retention and expansion. The GCP emphasizes service to its more than 15,400 members; advocacy on behalf of members and the region; diversity and inclusion; and internationalization of the region and its businesses. http://www.gcpartnership.com

COSE, the small business arm of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, serves as a one-stop resource for its members by providing: group-purchasing programs that reduce the cost of doing business; education and development programs for small- and mid-sized businesses; advocacy on legislative and regulatory issues affecting the business community; a wide range of resources focused on helping firms grow; and economic development partners that can address business concerns. www.cose.org

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