Business Roundtable response to Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Charles Grassley's (R-IA) request to stakeholders for new ideas for improving overall transparency in health care. Chairman Wyden announced the request at an AARP/Business Roundtable on June 12.
October 3, 2014
Senator Ron Wyden
Chairman, Committee on Finance
United States Senate
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Senator Chuck Grassley
United States Senate
135 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Wyden and Senator Grassley:
Thank you for the opportunity to offer the views of America’s business leaders on the benefits of transparency with regard to cost and performance data on U.S. health care providers. The CEO members of Business Roundtable, who lead major U.S. companies that purchase health care coverage for more than 40 million Americans, are committed to leveraging cost and quality information and innovation to deliver better health outcomes at lower cost to employees and their families.
Business Roundtable has long advocated for greater transparency in health care provider performance. We recently released a new publication, Driving Innovation in the Health Care Marketplace: A CEO Report, which further elaborates our position. We believe that actionable information about the cost and outcomes of medical services is an indispensable prerequisite for a well-functioning health care market.
As detailed in our report, America’s large employers have been delivering innovative solutions that improve the cost and quality of care. America’s health care consumers and payers need the federal government, which exerts tremendous market power that shapes the overall contours of the U.S. health care system, to follow the private sector’s lead and become more innovative, flexible, and transparent in the way it manages and pays for health care.
Thank you again for the opportunity to present our views and we would be happy to meet for further discussions.
Sincerely,
Gary Loveman
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President
Caesars Entertainment Corporation
Chair, Health and Retirement Committee
Business Roundtable
Larry Merlo
President and Chief Executive Officer
CVS Health
Vice Chair, Health and Retirement Committee
Business Roundtable