1998 Executive Business Series

NCHC Writer
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Coalition Briefs Business Leaders in Denver, Des Moines

    More than forty CEOís of major national corporations and local businesses attended Executive Briefings on Health Care conducted by the Coalition in Denver and Des Moines this spring.

   The Coalition developed the Executive Briefing Series in response to feedback from previous conferences. The sessions were structured to focus beyond the immediate cost issues surrounding the provision of health care benefits to include a broader unde rstanding of the meaningful role that business has in determining the nationís future health care environment.

Denver Meeting

   The Coalitionís Denver meeting was co-sponsored by the Kauvar Foundation and the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. Attendees included CEOís, Chairmen, Presidents and Senior Vice Presidents who gathered at the University of Denve rís Phipps Mansion for a four-hour session on March 31st. The meeting began with welcoming remarks by James D. Griesemer, Ph.D., Dean of the Daniels College of Business, and Abe Kauvar, M.D., Founder and President of the Kauvar F oundation. The session was facilitated by Michael Maccoby, President, Maccoby Consulting.

   The participants voiced concern about rising health care costs, a lack of public understanding of health care as a “system,” a need for universal insurance coverage and a common definition of health care quality.

   Dr. Henry Simmons, the Coalitionís President, provided the group with an overview of the current state of the health care system. During the luncheon, Kenneth Thorpe, Ph.D., of Tulane University explained the rising costs of health care and the implications for business.

Des Moines Meeting

    The meeting in Des Moines on April 2nd was sponsored by the Iowa Business Council and was similar in content and structure to Denverís. Governor Robert D. Ray, former Governor of Iowa and Co-Chairman of the Coalition, opened the meeting and set the framework for the morning discussion. Participants in Des Moines voiced similar concerns about the cost, quality and access to health care as had the Denver participants.

    The Coalition is planning additional meetings around the country to continue to challenge Americaís most innovative, resourceful business minds to apply their collective expertise to understanding the issues and exploring possible solutions to the problems facing this countryís health care system

    The Executive Briefing Series is supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.