N@N

PFCD Hill Briefing Demonstrates Efficacy of Private Sector Solutions in Lowering Overall Health Care Costs

^{Published on 2011-02-17 11:20:39 - Market Wire}
 

WASHINGTON--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) in partnership with WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE:WLP) hosted a Capitol Hill briefing today titled aPartnerships in Health: Private Sector Solutions to Lower Costs and Improve Heath Care Quality.a Featuring a keynote address from U.S. Representative Tom Price and a panel discussion with health care providers, payors and prevention/wellness professionals, the briefing demonstrated how targeted efforts to improve health and lower costs offer hope for bending the cost curve and improving quality.

"We understand that improving health in America is not an overnight process"

Currently, preventable and highly manageable chronic diseases consume 75 percent of health care costs, driving spending for government, businesses and individuals. For Medicare and Medicaid specifically, chronic diseases are even more devastating a" generating more than 95 percent of costs. The existing private sector solutions highlighted at todaya™s event shed light on how targeted efforts support individual and population health improvements and generate value for the investments made.

aWith all eyes on the budget this week and discussions quickly turning to ways to lower federal spending and cut the deficit, ita™s a perfect time to have this discussion and collectively show what - can be done to lower health care costs without compromising quality,a said Dr. Ken Thorpe, executive director of PFCD. aChronic disease doesna™t need to be a drain on the health care system. Long-term solutions are available, and todaya™s briefing shows that programs already being implemented by the private sector not only work to lower costs but also improve health for millions of Americans.a

In addition to keynote speaker Rep. Price, the panelists included:

• Kenneth Thorpe, Ph.D., Executive Director, Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease; Robert W. Woodruff Professor and Chair, Department of Health Policy & Management, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University
• Earl P. Steinberg, M.D., M.P.P., Senior Vice President, Clinical Strategy, Quality and Outcomes, WellPoint
• Jonathan Lever, Ed. M., J.D., Vice President for Health Strategy and Innovation, YMCA of the USA
• Chris Porter, Director, Novo Nordisk

aPrevention and proactive management of chronic disease are two of the best ways to improve health outcomes and reduce health care costs,a Dr. Earl P. Steinberg, senior vice president of WellPoint. aWellPoint is proud to collaborate with the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease to help increase awareness about the benefits of programs such as these proven to prevent chronic disease as well as improve the quality of care delivered to patients who have chronic disease.a

aWe understand that improving health in America is not an overnight process,a added Thorpe. aHowever, waiting longer to implement prevention and treatment programs, such as those highlighted today, will only cause larger problems. To address health care costs aggressively, we must take the knowledge of what works and use it to reduce the human and economic toll chronic disease exacts.a

For more information on PFCD and future events, please visit [ www.fightchronicdisease.org ].

About the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease:

The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) is a national coalition of patients, providers, community organizations, business and labor groups, and health policy experts committed to raising awareness of the number one cause of death, disability, and rising health care costs in the U.S.: chronic disease.

About WellPoint, Inc.:

WellPoint works to simplify the connection between Health, Care and Value. We help to improve the health of our communities, deliver better care to members, and provide greater value to our customers and shareholders. WellPoint is the nationa™s largest health benefits company in terms of medical enrollment, with more than 33 million members in its affiliated health plans, and a total of more than69 million individuals served through all subsidiaries. As an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, WellPoint serves members as the Blue Cross licensee for California; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as the Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee in 10 New York City metropolitan and surrounding counties and as the Blue Cross or Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.), and Wisconsin. In a majority of these service areas, WellPoint does business as Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross andBlue Shield of Georgia,Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, or Empire Blue Cross (in the New York service areas). WellPoint also serves customers throughout the country as UniCare. Additional information about WellPoint is available at [ www.wellpoint.com ].