Board Policy
Endorsement of the US Department of Health & Human Service's
Four Cornerstones of Value-Driven Healthcare
March 29, 2007
Consistent and compatible with the previously adopted policy of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce regarding strategy for the future of “re-engineering our healthcare system,” the Illinois Chamber of Commerce endorses the Department of Health & Human Service's "Four Cornerstones of Value-Driven Healthcare.”
While the cost of healthcare is important, employers and consumers must be able to expect quality healthcare from medical providers and their health plans. Healthy employees are productive employees. With quality and efficiency improvements, Illinois will be better positioned to increase access to healthcare coverage. Without such improvements, the number of uninsured will increase and Illinois will be a decreasingly attractive state for businesses to locate.
The four Cornerstones:
- Support health information technology
- Provide quality information;
- Provide pricing information; and
- Promote quality and efficiency of care
These goals help advance our cause of improving the healthcare system in Illinois.
Effective reform will require finding a balance between reasonable costs, maintaining access to care, and a commitment to quality and efficiency. This can only be achieved with a system that provides appropriate incentives for providers to improve quality and efficiency, empowers consumers to take personal responsibility for the healthcare services they want and need, and requires both public and private purchasers of care to reimburse providers adequately and equitably.
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors endorses the Four Cornerstones initiative and encourages every employer, provider and insurer to do all they can to launch these elements in Illinois with haste. Healthcare is a serious issue for employers, healthcare providers, insurers, elected officials and the public. We are all invested in improving healthcare for the people of Illinois and in seeing our state become a leader in measurably improved healthcare results. Embracing, implementing and tracking results from the Four Cornerstones will initiate, guide, and demonstrate real progress.
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