AS HEALTHCARE REFORM MARKS 2nd BIRTHDAY, BAY AREA COUNCIL URGES CONTINUED FOCUS ON CONTROLLING COSTS, IMPROVING HEALTH

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – As the Affordable Care Act marks its second birthday and prepares for a date with the U.S. Supreme Court, the Bay Area Council continues its work to ensure that implementation of the landmark law remains focused on controlling costs, providing access for all and improving patient health.

“The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was an important step toward the creation of a healthcare system that provides high-quality affordable care,” said senior policy advisor, Micah Weinberg. “We are working with policymakers to ensure that this law is implemented in a way that respects the moral obligation to cover the uninsured, the practical necessity to improve affordability for businesses and consumers, and the urgent need to improve the health of Americans.”

The Bay Area Council is leading the business community in its efforts to control healthcare costs for employers while improving the health of Californians. It is actively participating in the development of a new state-based market for private insurance – the California Health Benefit Exchange – and is working with its corporate members to help them make purchasing decisions that move the healthcare delivery system toward higher quality and better value.

The Bay Area Council last fall released its “Roadmap to a High-Value Health System,” which outlined a series of concrete strategies for leveraging California’s power as an innovator to control rising healthcare costs for business and individuals. The Roadmap serves as the foundation for the Council’s ongoing engagement with healthcare reform implementation, value-based healthcare purchasing by Bay Area businesses, and health system transformation.

“We have the intellectual and innovation power to level the playing field on healthcare costs and free businesses to compete more aggressively on the merits of their products and services,” said Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council. “That’s how the Bay Area and California are going to maintain that competitive edge and the Roadmap shows us how we can get there.”

About the Bay Area Council
The Bay Area Council is a business-sponsored, public-policy advocacy organization for the nine-county Bay Area. The Council proactively advocates for a strong economy, a vital business environment, and a better quality of life for everyone who lives here. Founded in 1945, the Bay Area Council is widely respected by elected officials, policy makers and other civic leaders as the voice of Bay Area business. Today, approximately 275 of the largest employers in the region support the Bay Area Council and offer their CEO or top executive as a member. Our members employ more than 4.43 million workers and have revenues of $1.94 trillion, worldwide.

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