1. HEALTH CARE: WHOSE BUSINESS IS IT?
Philip Edmundson
Chairman & CEO, William Gallagher Associates
Co-Chair, Alliance for Business Leadership
Health Promotion Initiative

2. PROGRESS: UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE COVERAGE
Massachusetts
• The Commonwealth led the nation in providing universal
health care coverage to its citizens in 2006.
United States
• The Affordable Care Act, modeled on MA law, was passed
in 2010 and upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012. It
requires all states to establish exchanges for the purchase
of health insurance by 2013.
• The first step in health care reform has been accomplished:
universal coverage that includes everyone in the system
and overcomes the risk of adverse selection.

3. CHALLENGE: SPIRALING HEALTH CARE COSTS
United States
• National health care expenditures accounted for 18% of
GDP in 2011, and are heading for 20% by 2020 (Health
Affairs).
Massachusetts
• Health care spending has been growing in MA at least
twice as fast as the rest of the state’s economy (Kaiser
Family Foundation).

4. COST DRIVERS IN HEALTH CARE
• Hospital costs, physician costs, medical technology, plan
administration, government regulation, and waste, fraud
and abuse are leading cost drivers.
• Many of these services and products are necessary.
• What is unnecessary? The amount of money spent on
treating chronic disease.
• $3 out of every $4 spent on health care goes to treat
chronic diseases, many of which are preventable.

5. WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?
The Alliance asked 2 renowned economists “how can
business best leverage change in health care that
promotes wellness and reduces costs?”
Jonathan Gruber, MIT – business should focus on the
demand side of the equation (workplace wellness,
health plan design)
David Cutler, Harvard – business should focus on the
supply side (help drive innovation and efficiency in
health care delivery)
• Attend Alliance Forum: convening businesses, health
care providers and academic experts to discuss how
innovation stands to impact health care costs

6. WHAT CAN GOVERNMENT DO TO PROMOTE HEALTH
AND REDUCE COSTS?
Federal Level
• Uphold the Affordable Care Act – ensure that all
Americans have health insurance coverage.
• Provide Funding for Medical Research – NIH funding
sustains innovation in medicine, creates jobs and
contributes to a better quality of life for many Americans.
• Provide Funding for Public Health – The U.S. spends
75% of health care dollars treating chronic disease and
dedicates less than 5% to preventing it. We need to
focus more on prevention.

7. WHAT CAN GOVERNMENT DO?
State Level
• Health Care Cost Containment – August 2012, MA
Legislature passed legislation to bring state health care
spending in line with gross state product.
• Workplace Wellness Tax Credits – Included in the law:
25% of cost, up to $10,000, in tax credits for workplace
wellness programs.
• Public Health Funding via a Soda Tax – Not included in
the law: provision to eliminate the tax exemption on soda
would yield $40 to $50 million in revenue.

8. WHAT CAN BUSINESS DO?
Establish Workplace Wellness Programs
• Effective 1/1/13, a new state tax credit will support
business costs up to $10,000 for these programs.
• Department of Public Health is in the process of
promulgating regulations on eligible programs. Join the
Alliance as we weigh-in.
Alter Health Plan Design
• Consider tiered health network plans or high deductible
health plans with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) as
options that can reduce cost and educate employees to
be smarter consumers of health care.

9. QUESTIONS FOR BREAKOUT SESSION
1. Has your company established workplace wellness
programs? What are the barriers and opportunities?
2. Has your company considered alternative health plan
design options? Why or why not?
3. Would you attend an Alliance forum on innovation in
health care delivery? What other big ideas in health
care reform should the Alliance pursue?

10. CONTACT INFORMATION
Philip Edmundson, Co-Chair
The Alliance Health Promotion Initiative
pedmundson@wgains.com
Kelly Bovio, Senior Policy Advisor
The Alliance for Business Leadership
kbovio@allianceBL.org
The Alliance for Business Leadership
www.AllianceforBusinessLeadership.org