President Obama's Budget Underscores Commitment To Healthcare Reform

Statement from Scott P. Serota, president and CEO, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association

February 26, 2009

WASHINGTON – In response to the budget proposal that President Obama sent to Congress today, Scott P. Serota, president and chief executive officer of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), issued the following statement:

"President Obama's proposal to create a $634 billion healthcare 'reserve fund' is evidence of a strong commitment to enacting comprehensive healthcare reform this year.  BCBSA and the 39 independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies share that commitment and want to work with the administration and Congress on healthcare reform that will help to rein in costs, improve quality and expand health insurance coverage for everyone.  We agree action is needed this year.

"While we believe all stakeholders must be part of the solution, we are very concerned that nearly one-third of the proposed funding will come from cuts to the Medicare Advantage program.  This will seriously impact 10 million Medicare beneficiaries who rely on Medicare Advantage, which provides comprehensive, coordinated care in the Medicare program today.  Competitive bidding may sound appealing on the surface, but we need to examine the impact on beneficiaries, such as how many are likely to lose Medicare Advantage coverage or see significant premium increases and/or reduced benefits.  BCBSA looks forward to working closely with the administration and Congress to ensure seniors continue to have access to quality coverage with predictable premiums and stable benefits.

"We commend the president's leadership in advancing several key initiatives that will lead to better and more affordable care for Americans who are struggling to pay their bills.  BCBSA strongly supports efforts to establish a new regulatory pathway for generic biologics, expand comparative effectiveness research so that we know what treatments work best, adopt Medicare incentives to improve quality and lower costs by reducing unnecessary hospital readmissions, and build on the investments to accelerate adoption of health information technology.  Further, we applaud the administration for including additional dedicated resources to tackle fraud, waste and abuse, which costs our system at least $68 billion each year.

"We look forward to working collaboratively with the administration and Congress to pursue meaningful reforms that will improve access to quality, affordable coverage."