HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today called on employers throughout the nation to commit to four steps to improve health care quality and reduce health costs by improving information in the health care sector.

Fundamental information about health care quality and costs of services is largely unavailable today to consumers, to payers, and to providers alike. Without this information, it is difficult to make informed choices and seek out the best quality at the most affordable price. This contributes to higher health care costs overall.

"If we are going to get a handle on health care costs -- and we must -- we first need to know what our costs are and what we are getting for our money," Secretary Leavitt said. "Our nation's private employers are the major source of health insurance for Americans, and they can help us provide the information consumers need to achieve better value for their health care dollars."

At a meeting of business leaders representing large and small companies nationwide, Secretary Leavitt said commitment to four "cornerstone" goals would lead to lead to improved quality of care and lower costs:

• Standards for connecting health information technology, making it possible to share patient health information securely and seamlessly among health care providers.
• Quality of care reporting, so that health care providers as well as the public can learn how well each provider measures up in delivering care.
• Providing costs of health services in advance, so that when patients choose routine and elective care, they can make comparisons on the basis of both quality and how much of the total cost they will have to pay under their health plan.
• Providing incentives for quality care at competitive prices, as in payments to providers based on the quality of their services, or insurance options that reward consumers for choosing on the basis of quality and cost.

President Bush signed an executive order committing federal health care programs to the four "cornerstone" goals. Medicare, the Veterans Affairs health system, the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program and certain other federal health care programs will begin delivering on the four goals in the coming year. If a significant number of employers also commit to the four goals, common standards for health IT, quality measurement and cost reporting would quickly become the standard throughout the health care system.

Secretary Leavitt emphasized that the initiative is voluntary and each employer needs to make its individual choice. Employers that agree to the four goals will be encouraged to sign a support statement as part of a package of materials that is being made available to employers and other health care stakeholders. As a start, Secretary Leavitt said he hopes that 100 individual companies or more will sign up by the end of this year.

KW