The New Health Dialogue

Last week, we took the New Health Dialogue on the road to the Big Apple. Why, you ask? To satisfy shoe cravings, perhaps? Not this time.

Last week, New York City and TIAA-CREF played host to a health care forum presented by the Committee for Economic Development (CED). The program engaged the business community and focused on its motivations for fixing our health care system.

The message from the panel of business leaders was clear: rising health care costs undermine the ability of U.S. firms to compete internationally, stifle entrepreneurial prospects, and lead firms to grow their businesses abroad instead of at home. And these problems will not get better on their own. (Click here for New America's own paper on health care costs and global competition.)

Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Bob Bennett (R-UT), lead cosponsors of the bipartisan Healthy Americans Act, also shared their thoughts on the prospects for health care reform. Senator Wyden argued that any approach to the health care crisis should be bold, while Bennett spoke about the need to give consumers health care choices within a marketplace that encourages insurers to compete based on price and value, not marketing and underwriting.

Congratulations to CED for a great event and for helping pave the way for employers to play a catalytic role in the health reform conversation to come. CED's president Charles Kolb took part in a health care event we sponsored on Capitol Hill earlier this year, and stay tuned for news about collaborative initiatives between New America and CED.