Donohue Talks to Reporters About Health Care Solutions

All of the new health care proposals being floated around Washington during this election cycle must include measures to increase transparency, the use of information technologies, and a focus on preventive care, U.S. Chamber President and CEO Tom Donohue told reporters during a June 17 luncheon at the Chamber’s headquarters.

Donohue deferred from endorsing either presidential candidate’s health care plan, noting that plans often change after the primaries. He called on the candidates to discuss the actual costs and implementation required in their plans, saying, “I’m all ears.” In the meantime, the Chamber, he said, is trying to steer the health care debate towards “pragmatic, affordable solutions that work.”

A plan that works should begin with practices that will save money in any system in the long-run, such as incentives for doctors to teach wellness, and the use of e-prescribing and health IT. “Wellness programs and IT may be more expensive upfront, but their long-term return is much higher than a national system of arbitrary regulation,” Donohue said

The reporter luncheon was a follow-up event to Donohue’s speech in Las Vegas at a health care summit this May where he outlined the Chamber’s position in the health care debate.

Read the speech.

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