Joshua Boger, Founder, Vertex Pharmaceuticals; Co-Chair of PBLN's Healthcare & Life Sciences Working Group
Jim Roosevelt, Jr., President & CEO, Tufts Health Plan and Co-Chair of PBLN's Healthcare & Life Sciences Working Group
As progressive business leaders, we believe Massachusetts should continue to lead the nation as an innovator in health, health care and life sciences. To that end, we bring different stakeholders together to discuss strategies and opportunities for impact. Interested in participating in the Health Care & Life Sciences Working Group? Click here to send an email (subject line: Health Care & Life Sciences WG) to learn about how to get involved.
Leadership:
Co-Chair: Joshua Boger, Founder & former CEO, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Co-Chair: James Roosevelt, Jr., President & CEO, Tufts Health Plan
Co-Coordinator: Valerie Fleishman, Executive Director, New England Healthcare Institute
Co-Coordinator: Brian Carey, Partner, Foley Hoag
Current Focus:
The Health Care & Life Sciences Working Group has prioritized the following areas: implementation of national healthcare reforms; health, wellness and the economy; and health care payment reform in Massachusetts. Three subgroups are currently developing actionable agendas in each area, to include opportunities for education and advocacy.
Recent Activity & Accomplishments-
- Advocacy for passage of national healthcare reform in 2009-10 that would bring healthcare coverage to all Americans and focus energy on creating healthier families and containing the cost of healthcare for businesses and the entire economy.
- Held Forums on strategies for maintaining access to care, refocusing on healthy outcomes and cost containment. Speakers have included Tufts Health Plan CEO Jim Roosevelt, Vertex Founder & former CEO Joshua Boger, William Gallagher Associates Chairman & CEO Philip Edmundson, Massachusetts Association of Hospitals CEO Lynn Nicholas, MA Secretary of Housing & Economic Development Greg Bialecki, Massachusetts Secretary of Health & Human Services Dr. JudyAnn Bigby, Robert Kuttner, Founder & Co-Editor, The American Prospect, Paul F. Levy, President & CEO, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dr. Gene Lindsey, President and CEO, Atrius Health, and Richard Pops, President & CEO, Alkermes. (video link)
PBLN Values & Policy Statement:
Values Statement:
- We stand by the Massachusetts model for health reform achieving near universal coverage; and we are committed to universal health care as a right, not a privilege for all Americans
- We support policies for cost containment in order to make universal coverage a sustainable and affordable reality
- We support polices that promote innovation in health care and life sciences
- We support policies that enhance the health of all our citizens including strategies to promote health care quality and disease prevention
- We support policies that address disparities in access to/quality of healthcare for the disadvantaged, racial/ethnic minorities and those with economic barriers to access.
Policy Statement: PBLN supports universal healthcare for all Americans as a right and not a privilege. In fully supporting Massachusetts’ innovative approach to achieving near-universal coverage, we view the next frontier for Massachusetts and the nation to be cost containment so that universal health care is affordable and sustainable. We support the findings of the Governor’s Special Payment Commission to shift Massachusetts toward an all-payer global payment model over the next five years. We are committed to deep engagement over the impact of this shift on all stakeholders including consumers, businesses, physicians and hospitals, disadvantaged populations, and to innovation in the health care and life sciences sectors.
The above policy statement reflects the position of PBLN. This position was developed by the PBLN Healthcare/Life Sciences Working Group and adopted by the PBLN Board of Directors. We encourage individual business leaders to “opt-in” by signing on to our policy statements, which PBLN may use publicly to advance awareness of our position. If you would like to opt-in and sign on to any or all of these three policy statements, you may do so by emailing PBLN Director of Operations Aaron Chalek at aaron@pbln.org.
Archives:
Healthcare & Life Sciences Working Group panel discussion video – JFK Summit 2009
Case Study: Geoff MacKay, President & CEO, Organogenesis
Case Study: Business Leadership and Public Leadership – Driving Massachusetts Health Care Reform
Case Study: Federal Funding For Biomedical Research and Its Impact on Innovation
Case Study: Health and Wellness programs – boosting a company’s bottom line
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