Video: Senators and CEOs Urge Passage of Health IT Bill Now

'Wired for Health Care Quality Act' Would Save Thousands of Lives, Billions of
Dollars

WASHINGTON, April 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CEOs representing America's
top companies joined forces Wednesday, April 2, 2008, with U.S. Senate health
leaders to urge swift passage of the "Wired for Health Care Quality Act," a
measure to bring the power of information technology to the health care
sector.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to:
http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/brt/32565/

"We can save thousands of lives and conserve billions of dollars for health
care with this one stroke -- and we can do it this year," said Sen. Edward M.
Kennedy (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions (HELP) Committee and sponsor of the legislation.

"The healthcare and business communities, including small businesses, are
clamoring for Congress to take action and establish uniform health IT
standards," said Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), ranking member of the HELP committee
and original co-sponsor of the legislation. "This bill will eliminate
duplicative tests and reduce medical errors. Moving from a paper-based health
care system to secure electronic medical records will save lives and reduce
skyrocketing health care costs."

Joining the Senate leaders were Business Roundtable members Ivan Seidenberg,
chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications Inc., and Ronald A. Williams,
chairman and CEO of Aetna Inc. The four called for speedy passage of the bill,
which seeks to replace the current system of paper records with secure,
protected electronic records.

Also presented during the event was a compelling compilation of data by Dr.
Robert Wescott documenting the potential life saving and cost saving benefits
of health IT.

-- The RAND Corporation found that widespread usage of health IT could produce
annual savings in efficiency and improved health outcomes of $165 billion.
-- According to a 2002 Commonwealth Fund study, 22 percent of Americans report
that they or a family member have experienced a medical error of some kind --
errors that could be avoided through health IT use. Many of the 98,000 deaths
from medical errors each year could also be avoided.
-- Each day that Congress fails to pass the "Wired for Healthcare Quality
Act," 268 Americans die from medical mistakes, and the nation loses $452
million dollars, losses that could be prevented by health IT.

The "Wired for Health Care Quality Act" was introduced last June in the
Senate; a similar bill -- the "Promoting Health Information Technology Act" --
was introduced several months later in the House of Representatives. Both
bills would foster implementation of a nationwide interoperable health
information network.

Business Roundtable member companies provide health insurance to 35 million
Americans, which represents a quarter of all Americans who have private
employer-based or group health insurance coverage.

"For nearly all businesses, with the notable exception of health care,
electronic communication has already moved into second- and third-generation
iterations. Yet, today 90 percent of health care records are kept on paper,"
said Ivan Seidenberg, who is also chairman of Business Roundtable's Health and
Retirement Task Force. "The Internet has already entered 'Web 2.0': We can
access our personal banking information from around the globe and receive
up-to-the-minute updates on news, stocks and much more. Meanwhile, our health
care is stuck in time and lacks even the simplest IT foundation. We must act
now to upgrade American health care and establish an interconnected nationwide
health-technology system."

Verizon covers 900,000 employees, retirees and their dependants and offers an
example of what could be done, Seidenberg said. The company offers employees
an enhanced Personal Health Care Record to gather, store and manage essential
health information from multiple sources in one file.

"Rarely are these decisions as easy as this one: invest now to wire America
for 21st century health care or continue paying the price for an ineffective
system in lives and dollars," said Ronald A. Williams. "Congress must pass
health IT now."

Business Roundtable (http://www.businessroundtable.org) is an association of
chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with $4.5 trillion in
annual revenues and nearly10 million employees. Member companies comprise
nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock markets and represent over
40 percent of all corporate income taxes paid. Collectively, they returned
$114 billion in dividends to shareholders and the economy in 2006.

Business Roundtable is also a founding member of Divided We Fail, a national
effort with AARP, SEIU and NFIB designed to engage the American people,
elected officials and the business community to find broad-based, bi-partisan
solutions to health care and long-term financial security.

SOURCE Business Roundtable

Joe Crea of Business Roundtable, +1-202-496-3288; or Alberto Canal of Verizon,
+1-908-559-6367