The leaders of five major nonprofit health systems are calling on Congress to work with them and draft healthcare legislation that encourages improved quality of care and ensures Americans maintain their insurance coverage, according to an op-ed penned in The Hill.
Anthony Tersigni, EdD, president and CEO of St. Louis-based Ascension, Kevin Lofton, CEO of Englewood, Co.-based Catholic Health Initiatives, Lloyd Dean, CEO of San Francisco-based Dignity Health, Richard Gilfillan, MD, CEO of Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health, and Rodney Hochman, MD, CEO and president of Renton, Wash.-based Providence St. Joseph Health all emphasized the need for Congress not to pass the Better Care Reconciliation Act as it is written and risk millions of Americans losing their health insurance.
"Together, we can fix this," the CEOs wrote. "There is still plenty of room for improvement in our healthcare system. Healthcare is too expensive, coverage must be more affordable, Medicaid programs must become more innovative and efficient, the individual market must be stabilized and more payments for healthcare services must be made through value-based contracts."
"…we invite the Trump administration and members of Congress to work together with us to create a health system that always puts people first and never forgets that each of us is only one disease or one accident away from vulnerability, " wrote the group.
The CEOs' organizations combined have a presence across 40 states and Washington, D.C.
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