Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt announced Wednesday that 175 companies -up from 100 in December- have now pledged to abide by President Bush's transparency plan for advancing value-driven healthcare in the U.S.
The announcement came at a luncheon sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Partnership for Prevention, where Leavitt said that among the 175 companies are some of the largest companies in the country, representing purchasers of healthcare for 72 million Americans.
The transparency initiative is part of the Administration's plan to create value-driven healthcare, allowing consumers to choose providers based on information about the quality and care they provide. For the initiative to work, care outcome and pricing information must be gathered and transmitted via healthcare IT systems. The four cornerstones of the president's transparency plan include:
• Adopting healthcare IT standards
• Reporting quality of care
• Providing costs of health services in advance to patients
• Providing incentives for quality care at competitive prices
According to Leavitt, the percentage of the gross domestic product spent on healthcare has doubled from 8 percent to 16 percent in the past 30 years. If things continue, the percentage will be somewhere around 25 percent within the next 30 years, Leavitt said.
"There is a growing imperative for action, here," Leavitt said. "We need a decade of sweeping change."
HHS hopes to advance its plan by having 60 percent of the industry adopt the four cornerstones by spring 2008.
Leavitt's remarks were part of a ceremony held to mark the unveiling of the latest Leading by Example publication, a joint release on workplace health programs by the Partnership for Prevention and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. According to the Partnership for Prevention, this newest publication features 15 Chamber organizations, demonstrating that companies of all sizes can benefit from investments in workforce health.