Hillary Clinton Campaign Press Release - Hillary Clinton Announces Agenda to Lower Health Care Costs for All Americans

Seven-Step Strategy Would Cut Costs By $120 Billion Per Year

Hillary Clinton today announced a 7-step strategy to control health care costs and create a framework to provide affordable, quality coverage to all Americans in a major policy address at George Washington University. By focusing on prevention, electronic medical records and managing chronic illnesses, Clinton's plan would save the system $120 billion per year and could cut the average family's health care costs by $2,200 annually.

"Building a national consensus around these cost savings is the first crucial step to cover all Americans with quality, affordable health care," Clinton said. "Our present system is outdated, ineffective, and unsustainable. But we know we can spend far less and create an efficient, high-quality health care system for all Americans. The key is to modernize our health care infrastructure and demand a better return on our investment."

Health care premiums have almost doubled since 2000, up 87 percent, or four times higher than wages over the same period. And if left unattended, health care spending will double to $4 trillion per year over the next 10 years.

Senator Clinton's strategy would:

1. Create a Groundbreaking National Prevention Initiative to Reduce the Incidence of Such Diseases as Diabetes and Cancer that Impose Huge Human and Financial Costs
2. Institute a New "Paperless" Health Information Technology System
3. Transform Care of Today's Chronically Ill Population to Improve Outcomes and Decrease Costs
4. End Insurance Discrimination to Help Reduce Administrative Costs
5. Create an Independent "Best Practices" Institute to Empower Consumers, Providers and Health Plans to Make the Right Care Choices
6. Implement Smart Purchasing Initiatives to Constrain Excess Prescription Drug and Managed Care Expenditures
7. Put in Place Common-Sense Medical Malpractice Reforms

To read a full description of Clinton's health care strategy to lower costs for all Americans, visit http://www.hillaryclinton.com/files/pdf/healthcarecosts.pdf