Snapshots of Federal and State Health Care Activity

News From Washington, D.C.

UnitedHealth Group participates in White House Stakeholder Discussion on Health Reform
Tony Welters, Executive Vice President for UnitedHealth Group and President of the Public and Senior Markets Group, participated in a stakeholder discussion on health reform at the White House on April 8, 2009 hosted by Nancy-Ann DeParle, Director of the White House Office of Health Reform. Stakeholders including business people, insurers, and health care professionals were invited to the White House to continue the discussion on health care reform. This discussion follows the White House Forum on Health Reform hosted by President Obama in early March where he commented that “Every voice has to be heard. Every idea must be considered. Every option must be on the table.” Mr. Welters shared ideas on health reform that focused on ways to contain health care costs by addressing issues such as end of life care, and the importance of reforming the health care delivery system by increasing the supply of primary care providers, 24/7 care as a way of increasing the productivity of health care facilities, and bringing technology companies to the table to deal with health information technology. As stated by Mr. Welters, "UnitedHealth Group is firmly committed to health care reform and the need to bend the curve of health care cost growth. We applaud the Administration for making health care modernization a priority. While we face hard decisions, not pretty decisions, now is the time to act."

Visit the White House Web site to track the health reform discussion. http://www.healthreform.gov

Health reform discussions are ongoing, with Congressional leadership aiming for passage of legislation before the August recess
Although health reform legislation has yet to be introduced, Congressional leaders have stated that they intend to pass legislation in their respective houses by the August recess and have President Obama’s signature before the end of the year. During the last month, the Senate Finance and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committees and the House Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means committees with jurisdiction over health reform have held numerous hearings and stakeholder roundtable discussions to gather information on a variety of health care reform issues. UnitedHealth Group has been actively involved in these discussions. It is anticipated that these hearings and discussions will continue at least through May, with the introduction of legislation sometime this summer. The Senate and House passed budget resolutions that set blueprints for the federal budget on April 2, 2009. The resolutions do not specify health reform policies, but require that health reform legislation be deficit-neutral and that new spending be offset with cost savings or new taxes. Differences between the Senate and House budget resolutions will be resolved in conference committee starting after the April recess.  

Hearings held for Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius with confirmation expected later this month
The Senate HELP and Finance committees held hearings just prior to the April recess on the nomination of Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services.  In her testimony, she stated that health reform would be her mission, that the status quo is unacceptable and unsustainable, and that health reform must happen this year. The Senate Finance committee is planning to hold a vote on her confirmation after the two week April recess and it is expected that she will be confirmed by the full Senate soon after.

UnitedHealth Group supports individual market reforms proposed by AHIP and BCBSA
America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) sent a joint letter to leaders of the Senate Finance and HELP committees on March 24, 2009, voicing support for comprehensive health care reform that ensures all Americans have high-quality, affordable health care. In the letter, AHIP and BCBSA state that government programs like Medicaid and CHIP have a vital role to play in achieving universal coverage but that the creation of a government run health plan would harm the health care system.  AHIP and BCBSA support:

• reforms of the delivery system to contain costs,
• building on employer-based coverage to expand access, and
• changes to the individual market including guarantee issue and rating restrictions combined with a requirement that all individuals have health insurance, a risk spreading mechanism, incentives for people to be healthy, and tax credits.

UnitedHealth Group has long advocated that the United States needs comprehensive health reform including modernization of care delivery and other measures to tackle the fundamental drivers of health care cost growth, together with the strengthening of employer-based coverage, and well-targeted support for low-income families, all of which should be pursued alongside the important changes to individual insurance that we have suggested in partnership with other AHIP industry participants.

Read the letter from AHIP and BCBSA

UnitedHealth Group participates with AHIP and BCBSA as only invited insurer in health reform round table discussion with House Blue Dog Coalition
On March 17, 2009, UnitedHealth Group participated in a roundtable discussion with members of the House Blue Dog Coalition, a group of influential, conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives. UnitedHealth Group, represented by Executive Vice President Simon Stevens, was the only insurance company invited to participate; AHIP and BCBSA participated as industry trade associations. The discussion centered on how to achieve comprehensive health reform with a focus on cost containment and the future of Medicare Advantage. UnitedHealth Group was invited back for further discussions surrounding specific policy proposals and issues within the health care reform debate. 

News from the states