National Health Care Reform

Issues Update

CalPERS CEO Urges Congress to "Move Forward Without Delay" on Health Care Bill
January 28, 2010
Following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Speech where he pressed Congress to approve health care reform legislation, California Public Employees Retirement System’s Chief Executive Officer Anne Stausboll today urged federal lawmakers “to move forward without delay to pass a final bill.”

“The House and Senate health care bills, while imperfect, represent a historic step forward in addressing our nation’s health care challenges,” she said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. CalPERS strongly supports key elements of the legislation designed to constrain cost growth, improve quality, and expand coverage to tens of millions of the uninsured, including: significant investments in comparative effectiveness research; strengthening the Medicare program by realigning payment incentives to reward value over volume of services; providing a landmark investment in prevention and wellness initiatives; developing a national strategy to improve quality measurement and reporting; and offering direct financial assistance to ensure affordability of coverage in combination with an individual requirement to purchase coverage. We believe that these measures, combined with strong insurance reforms, will fundamentally alter and improve the way health care is delivered and purchased in this country.”

In the letter, Stausboll also outlined some concerns about some provisions in the pending legislation.

Read Anne Stausboll’s letter





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