- National Coalition on Health Care
-
National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC) is America’s oldest and most diverse coalition working to achieve comprehensive health system reform. Founded in 1990 by Dr. Henry E. Simmons, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P., NCHC is a non-profit alliance of more than 80 organizations representing medical societies, business, unions, health care providers, associations of religious congregations, minorities, and people with disabilities, pension and health funds, insurers, and groups representing patients and consumers.[1] Member organizations collectively represent over 150 million Americans.[2]
Distinguished leaders from academia, business, and government have also pledged their support for the Coalition's efforts. The Coalition's Co-Chairmen are former Governor Robert D. Ray (R-IA) and former Congressman Robert W. Edgar (D-PA).[3]
The Coalition has a stated commitment to building a national bipartisan consensus in support for enactment and implementation of sustainable, systemic and system-wide health care reform.
Contents
Coalition Principles
The Coalition’s mission is grounded on five interdependent principles forming a framework for improving America’s health care system:[4]
• Health care coverage for all
• Cost management
• Improvement of health care quality and safety
• Equitable financing
• Simplified administration
Health care coverage for all is needed to assure quality of care, to improve the health status of Americans, and to enable us to control costs and to simplify the system. It is an essential social policy goal.
Cost management and equitable financing are critical to attaining a workable, affordable, and sustainable health care system. They are also prerequisites to providing health insurance coverage for all. If the costs of health care can be contained and equitably distributed, necessary health care services can be made available within the reach of all. If the costs of health care cannot be contained and equitably distributed, the negative implications and outcomes for our country will be enormous.
Improvement of health care quality and safety must be the goal of all health interventions so that we can assure optimal outcomes for the resources expended.
Equitable financing is a central requirement of any system that seeks to provide and sustain health insurance for all. Currently, the insured and many employers are forced to pay more than they should in order to compensate for the costs of caring for the uninsured. Cost shifting of this sort has contributed to the deterioration of public support for our current health care system and to the drop in employment-based coverage. Universal coverage cannot be achieved or sustained without equitable financing.
Simplified administration is essential to reduce costs and create a more efficient health care system. A less complex administrative system will minimize needless costs, be more user-friendly, and enable precious health care dollars to go toward improved health care, not bureaucracy.
Board of directors
Including the Co-Chairs, the National Coalition on Health Care has 14 board members.
Board Members[5]
Robert D. Ray (Co-Chair), Former Governor of Iowa
Robert W. Edgar (Co-Chair), Former Member of Congress, President and CEO, Common Cause
Henry E. Simmons, President Emeritus and Chairman of Executive Committee
John Wilson, Executive Director, National Education Association
Frank Carlucci, Chairman Emeritus, The Carlyle Group
Bill Crist, Emeritus Professor of Economics, California State University
George Diehr, Board Member, California Public Employees' Retirement System
Cheryl G. Healton, President and CEO, American Legacy Foundation
William A. Roberts, National Commander, The Salvation Army
William J. Grize, Former President & CEO, Ahold USA
Grace L. Mastalli, Secretary; Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel, National Coalition on Health Care
John H. McArthur, Treasurer; Dean Emeritus, Harvard Business School
Ralph G. Neas, President and CEO, Generic Pharmaceuticals Association
John Rother, President and CEO, National Coalition on Health Care
John Seffrin, CEO, American Cancer Society
John Sweeney, CEO, AFL-CIO
Member Organizations
The National Coalition on Health Care comprises the following member organizations.
Member Organizations[6]
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association of Community Colleges
American Association of State Colleges and Universities
American College of Cardiology
American College of Emergency Physicians
American College of Nurse Midwives
American Dental Education Association
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO
American Federation of Teachers
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Association of American Medical Colleges, Council of Teaching Hospitals and Health Systems
Association of American Universities
Breast Cancer Network of Strength
C-Change
California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS)
California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS)
CodeBlueNow!
Colorado Public Employee Retirement Association
Partnership for Health Care Reform (Communication Workers of America)
Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
Duke University Medical Center
The Episcopal Church
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Giant Food, Inc.
Gross Electric, Inc.
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund
Partnership for Health Care Reform (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers)
International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, AFL-CIO
International Foundation for Employee Benefit Plans
Iowa Farm Bureau Federation
Japanese American Citizens League
Johns Hopkins Medicine
Maternity Center Association
Michigan Health & Hospital Association
Midwest Business Group on Health
Motion Picture Association of America
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
National Association of Childbearing Centers
National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
National Community Action Foundation
National Conference of Public Employee Retirement Systems
National Coordinating Committee for Multi-Employer Plans
National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
National Council on Teacher Retirement
National Education Association
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
New York State Teachers' Retirement System
Organization of Chinese Americans
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Salvation Army
Sheet Metal Workers' International Association, AFL-CIO
Small Business Majority
Stop & Shop, Inc.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd.
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, AFL-CIO
United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
U.S. PIRG
Partnership for Health Care Reform (Verizon)
References
- ^ Catherine Dodge and Jonathan D. Salant, (September 10, 2009). "Obama Hits Reset on Health Debate to Win Wavering Democrats". Reuters. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aNWiEdZuopaQ. Retrieved Semptember 18, 2009.
- ^ About : NCHC
- ^ Co-Chairs : NCHC
- ^ Coalition Principles : NCHC
- ^ Board of Directors and Board Members, NCHC
- ^ Member Organizations, NCHC
External links
Categories:- Healthcare in the United States
- Healthcare reform advocacy groups in the United States
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