Gov. Gregoire, Secretary Sebelius discuss health care at Seattle roundtable event

For Immediate Release: February 9, 2011

SEATTLE � Gov. Chris Gregoire today welcomed U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to Washington state, and hosted a roundtable to discuss what Washington state is doing to make health care more affordable and accessible.

�In Olympia, our state budget crisis dominates the discussion of the day,� Gregoire said. �But we have another, long-term crisis looming and that is the escalating cost of health care � not just in our state, but in our nation. Health care inflation is one of the biggest drivers of our long term costs � and it�s not just limited to government. Everyone has a stake in this game.�

At the state level, the amount Washington spends each year on health care has more than doubled over the last decade to $5 billion a year. In December, Gregoire announced her plan to keep health care inflation to 4 percent or less by 2014, saving all Washingtonians a total of up to $26 billion in health care costs over the next 10 years

To read more about that plan, visit: http://governor.wa.gov/news/news-view.asp?pressRelease=1619&newsType=1

Health industry experts joined Gregoire and Sebelius for today�s discussion, representing, employers who purchase insurance, organizations that manage coverage, facilities that deliver health care services and practitioners who care directly for patients.

�The growth in health care costs is eating into our ability to invest in education and other important state services,� Gregoire said. �Our discussion today was about how we change that. There is no one switch we can flip and turn off the increase in health care costs. We have to move on many fronts, innovate in many segments of our system, and constantly seek out new ways to partner between the public and private sectors.�

Gregoire added that Washington state continues to work with Secretary Sebelius as a pilot state for health care reform, exploring several groundbreaking approaches with the new federal Center for Innovation.

�Washington state has been a leader in ensuring our neighbors have access to quality, affordable health care,� Gregoire said. �Secretary Sebelius recognizes that, and wants to take the best approaches from our state to share with others.�

The discussion was held at Virginia Mason � which was recently named one of two �Leapfrog Top Hospitals of the Decade� by The Leapfrog Group. The award recognized Virginia Mason�s strong public commitments to and major achievements in reducing medical errors and other innovations in patient safety and quality.

Participants of today�s roundtable discussion included:

� Dr. Gary Kaplan, Chairman and CEO, Virginia Mason Medical Center
� Dr. David Fleming, Director, Seattle-King County Public Health
� Dr. David Flum, Medical Director SCOAP, University of Washington
� Tom Fritz, CEO, Inland Northwest Health Services
� Vanessa Gaston, Director, Clark County Department of Community Services
� Lindsay Geyer, Vice President Human Resources, Port Blakely Companies
� Robert Hellrigel, CEO, Providence Senior and Community Services
� Dr. Michael Maples, CEO Community Health Council of Central Washington
� Dr. Michael Soman, President and Chief Medical Executive, Group Health Cooperative
� Diane Sosne, President, SEIU 1199NW
� Dr. Jeff Thompson, Chief Medical Office, Medicaid Purchasing Administration
� Carol Wagner, Vice President of Patient Safety, Washington State Hospital Association