SOME GOOD NEWS

Three seemingly unrelated groups (business, union and older persons) have recently decided to unite to promote a real discussion about health care and Social Security.

The effort by the Business Roundtable, SEIU and AARP is called "Divided We Fall" and has its own website.

On January 10, 2007, Larry Burton, the executive vice president of Business Roundtable, gave this testimony before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (from Lexis-Nexis):

Copyright 2007 Congressional Quarterly, Inc. All Rights Reserved. CQ Congressional Testimony
January 10, 2007 Wednesday
We have a very specific set of priorities on which we are urging action:

- First, Congress should act on continuing and expanding the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) that currently provides low-income children with access to health insurance coverage.

- Second, Congress and State leaders should act on legislation that removes statutory and regulatory barriers to increase health insurance options for Americans who do not have coverage.

- Third, wellness and prevention programs should be emphasized. Whether through incentives or public/private programs, every American should understand the importance of exercise, diet, immunization, and other disease prevention and health promotion programs.

- Fourth, consumer-centric health plans are an important option for health care coverage.

- Fifth, the government should release information on the comparative effectiveness of health care treatments. Consumers have a right to know what treatments and therapies work.

- Sixth, every individual in America should have access to information on the cost and quality of care provided in their communities.

- Seventh, Congress should permit reimbursement of providers by the federal government to be based on quality performance and the use of health information technology by those providers.

- Eighth, all Americans should have access to a uniform, secure, interoperable health care system that provides administrative and confidential medical information.

- And finally, Congress should reform the medical liability laws.


Notice that tort reform, the main health initiative by the Bush regime, is LAST on this list from serious people.

The president of the Business Roundtable appeared on Kudlow & Company, CNBC, on Tuesday January 16, 2007 and had this to say: (excerpted from Lexis-Nexis)

Mr. JOHN CASTELLANI (Business Roundtable President): Well, thanks, Bob. Delighted to be here. Today, Andy Stern, Bill Novelli and myself kicked off the "Divided We Fail" initiative, which really brings together our three very disparate organizations around an issue that quite frankly faces all of us in America. And that is our health and retirement security. You know, business roundtable companies provide health care for 34 million Americans but the system is broken. And what we are doing today is launching an initiative to create the political will for Congress, for governors, for state legislators to deal with these two very critical issues.