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NEWS RELEASE
January 7, 2009 Council to unveil 'Condition Critical: Ten Prescriptions for Reforming Health Care Quality, Cost and Coverage'
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| WHO: | James A. Klein, president, American Benefits Council Paul Dennett, senior vice president, health care reform, American Benefits Council Wilma Schopp, global lead, compensation, benefits & human resources operations, Monsanto Company Richard C. Lord, president and chief executive officer of Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) and member of the Massachusetts Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority Board Janet Boyd, director of government relations, tax & benefits for Dow Chemical ... and a panel of additional independent experts and veterans of prior health care debates available to answer media questions. |
| WHAT: | On Monday, January 12 at noon Eastern Time, the American Benefits Council will hold a special media briefing to unveil "Condition Critical: Ten Prescriptions for Reforming Health Care Quality, Cost and Coverage." This report was developed by the Council's board of directors with the goal of reforming health care through the employer-sponsored benefits system. The Council will be joined by a number of independent experts and advisors, who will discuss the report in the context of the greater health care reform debate.
"A reformed health care system, based on the successful employer-sponsored benefit framework and focusing equally on cost, quality and coverage, is an integral part of economic recovery and personal financial security, said Council president James A. Klein. "We believe the prescriptions we offer represent practical, achievable solutions as Congress and President-elect Obama prepare to tackle health reform in earnest." At the briefing, Council staff and Wilma Schopp, global lead, compensation, benefits & human resources operations for Monsanto Company and chair of the Council's Health Care Reform Task Force, will discuss the essential elements of the report. Richard C. Lord, president and chief executive officer of Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM), will talk about the Council's proposal from the perspective of a key player in the Massachusetts state health care initiative. Also in attendance at the briefing and available to provide additional commentary will be Janet Boyd, director of government relations, tax & benefits for Dow Chemical, a member of the Council's board of Directors and the National Coalition on Benefits. We will also be joined by a number of seasoned veterans of prior health care reform debates who will discuss constructive approaches to reform legislation and the Council's role in that process. David Nexon, senior executive vice president of AdvaMed, has more than twenty years of experience working as the Democratic health policy staff director for the U.S Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and as the senior health policy advisor to Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA). Randy Hardock, managing partner of Davis & Harman LLP, served as Benefits Tax Counsel in the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury during the Clinton health reform effort of 1993-94. Randy Johnson, the founder of Harbor Solutions and Services, is past chair of the Citizens Working Group on Health Reform, the group tasked by law to submit recommendations to lawmakers in fall 2006. An embargoed copy of the report will be released to those who RSVP by 9 a.m. on Friday, January 9, or upon request. |
| WHERE: | Please note that the briefing is not at the Council offices. The briefing will be held in person at the conference center at 1455 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 4th floor, Washington DC. (Entrance on E St.) Lunch will be served for those attending in person. Reporters may also attend the briefing via conference call.
To RSVP for the in-person briefing, please click here or paste the following address into your Internet browser:
To RSVP for the conference call, please click here or paste the following address into your Internet browser: |
| WHEN: | Noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, January 12, 2009. |
| CONTACT: | For more information, or to arrange an interview with Council staff, please contact Jason Hammersla, Council director of communications, at jhammersla@abcstaff.org or by phone at 202-289-6700 (office) or (202) 253-5458 (cell). |
The American Benefits Council is the national trade association for companies concerned about federal legislation and regulations affecting all aspects of the employee benefits system. The Council's members represent the entire spectrum of the private employee benefits community and either sponsor directly or administer retirement and health plans covering more than 100 million Americans.
The American Benefits Council is the national trade association for companies concerned about federal legislation and regulations affecting all aspects of the employee benefits system. The Councils member's represent the entire spectrum of the private employee benefits community and either sponsor directly or administer retirement and health plans covering more than 100 million Americans.
