April 17-19, 2006, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C.
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Event: The 2006 World Health Care Congress
April 17-19, 2006, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C.
What: A deep plunge into the issues of rising health care costs and what
businesses, insurance companies, doctors, hospitals and others can do to address
what has become one of the most pressing national—and international—economic
issues.
Engagement party: Companies lined up to tell stories of how they reduced costs
by "engaging the consumer." Textron reported that three years after switching to
a high-deductible health plan, costs are decreasing. Other companies are
beginning to offer high-deductible plans, including AT&T and American Express,
the latter of which has created a new credit card to integrate health savings
accounts and pay for out-of-pocket costs. Lowe’s executives talked about the
company’s efforts to create "transparency"—another buzzword—by culling data from
doctors nationwide in order to rank them by efficiency, cost and quality.
Changing the subject: UnitedHealth Group CEO William McGuire, embroiled in
reports of improper stock-option granting to executives amid missed earnings
reports and sagging stocks, chose instead to speak of the power of technology to
transform health care. McGuire envisions a future when a "smart card" credit
card contains a patient’s medical history.
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