Health Care For America Now

With Chamber Looking For A “Respected Economist,” HCAN Offers Up More Than 320

Washington, DC - With news today that the Chamber of Commerce is looking for a “respected economist”  to study the effects of health care reform, Health Care for America Now (HCAN) is stepping up to help.

In June, more than 320 economists, business leaders, and health care experts wrote to President Obama and Congress stating:

“Some have argued that we cannot afford health insurance coverage for all because of the economic crisis. But solving America’s big health care problems is essential to economic recovery. We need to cover everyone now as part of comprehensive reform to rebuild our economy and restore prosperity. Affordable coverage with good benefits will give cash-strapped lower and middle-income Americans greater financial security – and the ability to pay their mortgages, start small businesses, save for college, pursue new job opportunities, and make other choices that will benefit our economy. And it will help business owners to insure their workers. Ensuring health security for all will allow workers to move to those jobs that fit them best, not just those that provide health insurance, promoting entrepreneurship and labor market productivity.”

See the letter:  
http://www.ourfuture.org/action/2009062516/health-care-all-we-cant-afford-not-act-now

Campaign For America’s Future - an HCAN Steering Committee member – helped bring the economists together in June. Today, Health Care for America Now offered to make any of these experts available to the Chamber of Commerce.

“Since the Chamber has put out a help wanted ad, we thought we could be of some assistance,” said Richard Kirsch, National Campaign Manager, Health Care for America Now. “If the Chamber would like the phone number of any of these economists or business leaders, we would be happy to provide it to them.”

In June more than 320 economists, business leaders, and health care experts sent the letter below to the President and Congress on health care:

We, the undersigned economists, business leaders, and health care experts, urge the new President and Congress to reform America's health care system—to move boldly to cover all Americans with health insurance, to bring down health care costs and create improved quality and value within the health care system for families, businesses, and taxpayers.

Some have argued that we cannot afford health insurance coverage for all because of the economic crisis. But solving America’s big health care problems is essential to economic recovery. We need to cover everyone now as part of comprehensive reform to rebuild our economy and restore prosperity. Affordable coverage with good benefits will give cash-strapped lower and middle-income Americans greater financial security – and the ability to pay their mortgages, start small businesses, save for college, pursue new job opportunities, and make other choices that will benefit our economy. And it will help business owners to insure their workers. Ensuring health security for all will allow workers to move to those jobs that fit them best, not just those that provide health insurance, promoting entrepreneurship and labor market productivity.

Spiraling health costs represent a significant long-run drag on our economy and a drain on our budget. Businesses hire fewer workers, and pay them less, because health premiums have risen four times faster than inflation since 1999. The United States currently has the most expensive health care system in the world, spending $2.1 trillion on health care in 2006 and projected to grow to $4 trillion in the next decade, or one out of every five dollars spent in the U.S. And the dramatic inflation in the overall health care sector is responsible for the rising costs of Medicare and Medicaid, which, in turn, drive the growth of the Federal deficit. What is more, these two crises are related: reducing the pressure on both business and government, without shifting costs from one to the other, requires that we bring down rising health care costs throughout the economy.

In order to end cost-shifting and set the precedent for more fundamental control of health care costs, we must first move to cover everyone while effecting fundamental health care delivery and payment reform. Bringing everyone in America into the health care system will stop the shifting of inefficient, expensive emergency care onto taxpayers. Moreover, health care coverage for all will ensure we are all pulling in the same direction towards cost control through improved value and quality rather than fighting a two-front war over coverage and costs.

Reforming the system through new emphasis on prevention, chronic disease management and effective treatments will eliminate wasteful spending and build a healthier, more productive workforce. Comprehensive health care reform will also allow for a fundamental shift in the incentives in the system to reward improved quality and efficiency and the achievement of better health outcomes for individuals.

We agree with President Obama: we can’t afford NOT to reform our health care system. It is more important than ever that the new President and Congress take steps to reform the system so that it offers quality affordable health care coverage to all Americans in an efficient manner.

1    Henry Aaron,Brookings Institution
2    David Abramson,Columbia U National Center for Disaster Preparedness
3    Whitney Addington,Honorary Professor. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; President Emeritus, American College of Physicians
4    Tanweer Akram, Private sector
5    Randy Albelda, University of Massachusetts Boston
6    Mark Alex Peterson, UCLA  School of Public Affairs
7    G. Caleb Alexander, University of Chicago
8    Marcus     Alexis     Northwestern University
9    Sylvia A. Allegretto, University of California, Berkeley
10    Gar Alperovitz, University Maryland
11    Reema Alshirawi,Brigham and Woman's hospital
12    Ronald Andersen, UCLA School of Public Health
13    Marcellus Andrews, Barnard College
14    Helen Ann Halpin, University of California, Berkeley
15    Diane Archer, Institute for America's Future
16    Michael Ash, University of Massachusetts
17    Hillel Bachrach, 20/20 HealthCare Partners
18    Lee Badgett, Univ of Massachusetts Amherst
19    Ron Baiman, DePaul University
20    David Baker, Northwestern University
21    Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research
22    William Baldyga, University of Illinois at Chicago
23    Erol Balkan, Hamilton College
24    Nesecan Balkan , Hamilton College
25    Rosemary Batt, Cornell University
26    Michael Belzer, Wayne State University
27    Lourdes Beneria, Cornell University
28    Elizabeth Benson Forer, Venice Family Clinic
29    Gunseli Berik, University of Utah
30    Michael Berla
31    Alexandra Bernasek, Colorado State University
32    Cyrus Bina, University of Minnesota (Morris Campus)
33    Professor Joseph Blasi, Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations
34    Thomas Bodenheimer, University of California, San Francisco
35    Howard Botwinick, SUNY Cortland
36    Roger Bove, West Chester University (retired)
37    Todd Bowers, University at Albany
38    Elissa Braunstein, Colorado State University
39    Paula Braveman, University of CA., San Francisco
40    E Richard Brown, PhD, UCLA School of Public Health
41    Pamela Brubaker, California Lutheran University
42    Philip Burgess, Community Pharmacy Foundation
43    Linda C. Degutis, Yale University
44    Jim Campen, Americans for Fairness in Lending
45    Susan Carter, University of California, Riverside
46    Arthur Casimir, Western New England College
47    Colin Cavell, University of Bahrain
48    Alice Chen, UCSF
49    Howard Chernick, Hunter College, City University of New York
50    Paul Christensen, Hofstra University
51    Gary Christopherson, Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs, Dept. of Defense
52    Kathryn Coats     
53    Sheila Collins, William Patterson University
54    David Cormier, West Virginia University
55    Phillip Cryan, MPP, Goldman School of Public Policy, UC-Berkeley
56    Peter D. Jacobson, University of Michigan School of Public Health
57    Shinichi Daimyo, Boston University School of Public Health
58    Peter Damiano, Univ of Iowa Public Policy Center
59    Anita Dancs, Western New England College
60    Jane D'Arista, Financial Markets Center
61    Karen Davenport, Center for American Progress
62    Faith Davis, University of Illinois, Chicago
63    Kimberly Dayton, William Mitchell College of Law
64    Anthony D'Costa, Asia Research Centre, Copenhagen
65    Gregory DeFreitas, Hofstra University
66    Jules Delaune, LMI Government Consulting
67    Thomas DelGiudice, SUNY, College at Old Westbury
68    Timothy Diette, Washington and Lee University
69    Ranjit Dighe, SUNY Oswego
70    Robert Drago, Penn State University
71    Laura Dresser, Center on WI Strategy, UW Madison
72    Robin Dretler, Infectious Disease Specialists of Atlanta
73    Amitava Dutt, University of Notre Dame
74    Frank E. Speizer, MD, Harvard Medical School
75    Toby Edelman, Center for Medicare Advocacy
76    Green Ekadi, Meharry Medical College
77    Gregory Elliott, Brown University
78    Gerald Epstein, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
79    Susan Ettner, UCLA
80    John Farley, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
81    Jeff Faux, Economic Policy Institute
82    Judy Feder, Georgetown university
83    Rashi Fein, Harvard Medical School
84    Susan Feiner, Frances Perkins Center/USM
85    Rudy Fichtenbaum, Wright State University
86    David Fields, University of Utah
87    Kai Filion, Economic Policy Institute
88    Charles Fisher, Consultant to CMS/DHHS
89    John Fitzgerald, Bowdoin College
90    Laurie Flynn, Columbia University Medical Center
91    Howard Forman, Yale University
92    Jacqueline Fox, University of South Carolina School of Law
93    Robert Francis, Shoreline Community College
94    Gerald Friedman, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
95    James Galbraith, The University of Texas at Austin
96    Abraham Moses Genen, Public Policy Associates
97    Chris Georges, Hamilton College
98    Arkadipta Ghosh     
99    Patricia Girczyc, College of the Redwoods
100    Jody Hoffer Gittell, Brandeis University, Heller School  
101    Rebecca Givan, Cornell University
102    Any Glaser     
103    Lonnie Golden, Penn State Abington
104    Harold Goldstein, California Center for Public Health Advocacy
105    John Goodson MD, Harvard Medical School; Massachusetts General Hospital
106    Merrill Goozner, Center for Science in the Public Interest
107    Stephen Gorin,Professor, Plymouth State University
108    Vicki Gottlich, Center for Medicare Advocacy
109    Elise Gould, Economic Policy Institute
110    Thomas Greaney, Professor of Law
111    Carole Green, University of South Florida
112    Warren Greenberg, George Washington Univ.
113    Karl D. Gregory, Oakland University, Michigan
114    Lisa Grobar, California State University, Long Beach
115    Jonathan Gruber, MIT
116    Robert Guttmann, Hofstra University
117    Jacob Hacker, U.C. Berkeley
118    Amanda Hawes, WORKSAFE
119    Robert Heimer, Yale School of Public Health
120    James Heintz, University of Massachusetts
121    Michele Heisler, University of Michigan Medical School
122    Sheryl Heron, Emory University
123    Adam Hersh, University of Massachusetts
124    Roger Hickey, Institute for America's Future
125    Charles Homer, Nat'l Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality
126    Candace Howes, Connecticut College
127    Dana Hughes, University of California, San Francisco
128    Margaret Hurley, South Jersey Health Care
129    Michael Intriligator, UCLA
130    Amy Isaacs, Americans for Democratic Action
131    Dorene Isenberg, University of Redlands
132    Ken Jacobs, UC Berkeley
133    Michael Jacobson, Center for Science in the Public Interest
134    Jay Jaffe, Actuarial Enterprises, Ltd.
135    Helene Jorgensen, CEPR
136    Timothy Jost, Washington and Lee University
137    Peggy Kahn, University of Michigan-Flint
138    Arne Kalleberg, University of North Carolina
139    William Kalsbeek, University of North Carolina
140    William Kandel, Economic Research Service, USDA
141    Robert Kaplan, UCLA
142    Sally Kaplan, Retired
143    Leah Karliner, UCSF
144    Nancy Keating, Harvard Medical School
145    Arthur Kellermann, Emory University School of Medicine
146    Jaime King, University of California, Hastings College of the Law
147    Mary King, Portland State University
148    Eric Kingson, Syracuse University
149    Eleanor Kinney, Indiana University School of Law -- Indianapolis
150    Richard Kirsch, Health Care for America Now
151    Janet Knoedler,Bucknell University
152    Andrew Kohen, James Madison University
153    Gerald Kominski, UCLA School of Public Health
154    David Kotelchuck, Professional Staff Congress of CUNY
155    Rachel Kreier, Hofstra University
156    Peter Karl Kresl, Bucknell University - emeritus
157    Supriya Lahiri, University of Massachusetts Lowell
158    Mary Beth Landrum, Harvard Medical School
159    Joyce Lashof     
160    Miriam Laugesen, UCLA School of Public Health
161    Scott Lazerus, Western State College of Colorado
162    Peter Lazes, Cornell University
163    KJ Lee, Yale University
164    Arleen Leibowitz, UCLA School of Public Affairs
165    Keith Leitich, Researcher & Consultant
166    Margaret Levenstein, University of Michigan
167    Charles Levenstein, University of Massachusetts Lowell
168    John C Lewin MD, American College of Cardiology
169    Victor Lippit, Univ. of California, Riverside
170    Paul Lockrd, Black Hawk College
171    Nate Loewentheil, Roosevelt Institution
172    Irv Loh MD, Ventura Heart Institute
173    Charles Loubert, Healthcare Now of Maryland
174    Robert Lynch, Washington College
175    Catherine Lynde, University of Massachusetts Boston
176    Colleen M Grogan, University of Chicago
177    Diane Macunovich, University of Redlands
178    Jeff Madrick, New School, Challenge Magazine
179    Barbara Manard     
180    Rishi Manchanda,National Physicians Alliance
181    Cheryl Maranto, Marquette University
182    Saralyn Mark, Yale and Georgetown Schools of Medicine
183    Ann Markusen, University of Minnesota
184    Theodore Marmor, Yale University School of Management
185    Albert Martin, UCSF
186    Patrick Mason, Department of Economics, Florida State University
187    Thomas Masterson, Levy Economics Institute
188    Julie Matthaei, Wellesley College
189    Peter Hans Matthews, Middlebury College
190    Stephen McDonough     
191    Hannah McKinney, Kalamazoo College
192    Ellen Meara, Harvard Medical School
193    Martin Melkonian, Hofstra University
194    Tom Michl, Colgate University
195    Blackford Middleton, MD, MPH, MSc, Harvard Medical School/Partners HealthCare
196    Marcelo Milan, University of Wisconsin-Parkside
197    William Milberg, New School for Social Research
198    Lawrence Mishel, Economic Policy Institute
199    Michael Montoya, University of California, Irvine
200    Michael Moohr, Bucknell University
201    Jonas Morris     
202    Paul Morse, Massachusetts Teachers Assoociation  
203    Philip Moss, University of Massachusetts Lowell
204    Tracy Mott, University of Denver
205    Jamee Moudud, Sarah Lawrence College
206    Kevin Murphy, Oakland University
207    Michele Naples, The College of New Jersey
208    Julie Nelson, University of Massachusetts Boston
209    Patricia Nemore, Center for Medicare Advocacy
210    Eric Nilsson, California State University San Bernardino
211    Laurie Nisonoff, Hampshire College
212    Bruce Nissen, Florida International University
213    Anne Nolan, WFC Resources, Inc.
214    Jonathan Oberlander, University of North Carolina
215    Thomas Oliver, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
216    Paulette Olson, Wright State University
217    Stephen Ondra, Northwestern University
218    Dean Ornish, M.D., Preventive Medicine Research Institute
219    Susan Ozawa, Institute for America's Future
220    Aaron Pacitti, American Universitry
221    Robert Pandolfo     
222    Marjorie Pearson     
223    Danilo Pelletiere, National Low Income Housing Coalition
224    Michael Pendleton, Buffalo State College, Department of Economics and Finance
225    Michael Perelman     
226    Eliseo Perez-Stable, UCSF
227    Joseph Persky, University of Illinois at Chicago
228    Karl Petrick, Western New England College
229    Michael Pine, University of Chicago
230    William Pitsenberger, Washburn University School of Law
231    Thomas Pogge, Yale Philosophy Department
232    Karen R. Polenske, MIT
233    Harold Pollack, University of Chicago
234    Ron Pollack, Families USA
235    Karen Pollitz, Georgetown University Health Policy Institute
236    Daniel Polsky, University of Pennsylvania
237    Marilyn Power, Sarah Lawrence College
238    Benjamin Powers, Duke University Medical Center
239    Robert Prasch, Middlebury College
240    Mark Price, Keystone Research Center
241    Laura Punnett, Univ. Mass. Lowell and MTA/NEA
242    Paddy Quick, St. Francis College
243    Keith Rafal, MD,MPH, Brown University
244    Tom Rankin, California Alliance for Retired Americans
245    Michael Reich, University of California, Berkeley
246    Cordelia Reimers, Hunter College - CUNY
247    Uwe Reinhardt, Princeton University
248    Marguerite Ro, APIAHF
249    Malcolm Robinson, Thomas More College
250    Michael Robinson, University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences
251    John Roche, St John Fisher College
252    James Rock, U of Utah
253    Charles Rock, ROLLINS COLLEGE
254    Michael A. Rodriguez, UCLA
255    Sergio Romero, Boise State University
256    Jaime Ros, University of Notre Dame
257    Beth Rosenberg, Tufts University
258    Samuel Rosenberg, Roosevelt University
259    Joshua Rosenbloom, University of Kansas
260    Linda Rosenstock, Dean, UCLA School of Public Health
261    Meredith Rosenthal, Harvard School of Public Health
262    David Rosnick, Center for Economic and Policy Research
263    Rick Rowden, UNCTAD
264    Sonia Ruiz, JHSPH
265    Robert Salvatore, LaMora Psychological Associates
266    Benjamin Sapers, UMF
267    Jack Sawyer, Parker Street Foundation
268    Helen Scharber, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
269    Mark Schlessinger, Yale School of Public Health
270    John Schmitt, Center for Economic and Policy Research
271    Juliet Schor, Boston College
272    Sanford Schram, Bryn Mawr College
273    Joel Scott, Detroit Federation of Teachers
274    Stephanie Seguino, University of Vermont
275    Jean Shackelford, Bucknell University
276    Sumitra Shah, St. John's University
277    Dennis Shea, Penn State University
278    Barry Shelley, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
279    Heidi Shierholz, Economic Policy Institute
280    Richard Shoup, Healthcare Consultant
281    Sara Singer, Harvard School of Public Health
282    Perry Singleton, Syracuse University
283    Craig Slatin, University of Massachusetts Lowell
284    Vince Snowberger     
285    Susan B. Sorenson, University of Pennsylvania
286    Matthew Spewak     
287    Arthur Sprenkle     
288    Kellin Stanfield, DePauw University
290    Mary Stevenson, University of Massachusetts Boston
291    Jeffrey Stew, University of Cincinnati
292    Tom Swan, Co-Chair HealthFirst Authority
293    Sandra Tanenbaum, The Ohio State University
294    Stephen Tarzynski, M.D.     
295    David Terkla, Univ. of Massachusetts Boston
296    William Terry, MD, Brigham and Women's Hospital
297    Alexander Thompson, Vassar College
298    Frank Thompson, University of Michigan
299    Chris Tilly, UCLA
300    Renee Toback, Public Employee
301    Zdravka Todorova, Wright State University
302    Hande Togrul, University of Utah
303    James Tulsky, MD, Duke University
304    Dale Tussing, Syracuse University
305    Lydia J Vaias, MD, MPH, Founder National Physicians Alliance
306    Marjolein Van der Veen, Bellevue Community College
307    Matias Vernengo, University of Utah
308    Philippe Villers, Pres Families USA  Foundation
309    Paula B. Voos, Rutgers University
310    Alexander C. Wagenaar, PhD, University of Florida, College of Medicine
311    Norman Waitzman, University of Utah
312    Steven Wallace, UCLA School of Public Health
313    Anya Wallack, Massachusetts Medicaid Policy Institute
314    David Weiman, Barnard College
315    Thomas Weisskopf, University of Michigan
316    Penny Wheeler, Allina Health System
317    Joseph White, Case Western Reserve University
318    Howard Wial, Brookings Institution
319    Jeannette Wicks-Lim, PERI, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
320    Anmarie Widener, Georgetown University
321    Judith Wittner, Loyola University
322    Max Fraad Wolff, Graduate Program in International Affairs, New School
323    Yavuz Yasar, University of Denver
324    Anne Yeagle, University of Utah
325    Edward Yelin, University of California, San Francisco
326    Ajit Zacharias, Levy Econ Institute of Bard College
327    Ge Zhang     
328    Michael Zimmerman, Colorado Public Utilities Commission
329    Ben Zipperer, University of Massachusetts, Amherst