The Chamber

Protecting Health Care and Retirement Security for Working Americans

Skyrocketing health care costs are stifling the economy and financially devastating hardworking Americans.

A healthy workforce is the backbone of a strong economy, but spiraling health care costs curb the competitiveness of U.S. businesses and constrain tight family budgets. Unless we deal with this problem, more companies and families will be forced to drop coverage. Both small business and large business employers alike understand that for your business to be profitable, you have to have healthy employees.

A government-run or single-payer health care system with government mandates is the wrong answer to our health care problems. Why not let employers drive innovation in health benefits, thereby making market-driven health reforms the best approach to reducing costs, while promoting efficiency, wellness, and quality of care.

To reignite and sustain economic growth, we must increase access to affordable health care coverage, improve efficiency, and realign the system to focus on keeping people healthy. These are some top solutions for really creating meaningful health care reform:

• Increased Access: Strengthen employer-sponsored health insurance and make it more available-and affordable-to every worker. It is vital to support leveling the playing field for individual consumers, families, and small businesses to purchase coverage while protecting the benefits of a uniform federal regulatory system (ERISA).
• Health Information Technology (IT): Promoting and ensuring widespread adoption of interoperable Health IT-including electronic prescriptions and use of computerized systems to store medical records-will improve quality, lower costs, reduce medical errors, and help patients and doctors make better medical decisions.
• Prevention and Wellness: Incentivizing individuals and businesses to live healthier lifestyles could avert 40 million cases of chronic diseases and reduce health care costs by more than $1 trillion (Milken Institute).
• Consumer-Focused Health Care: Congress should make account-based plans more attractive to small businesses by increasing flexibility and improving the transparency of cost and quality data so that Americans can shop smart for the best care.
• Medical Liability Reform: Frivolous lawsuits drive up healthcare costs. The U.S. should create health courts and other medical liability reforms that would ensure fair damage awards, which would lower the costs of health care in the United States.