Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease launches Ohio chapter

The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, a coalition of patient, health care, business and labor groups, are urging political leaders to focus on chronic diseases, one of the leading causes of skyrocketing health care costs. (Source: "Chronic disease costs: $1 trillion a year" The Daily Briefing, Columbus Dispatch, Oct. 29, 2007.) According to the Partnership, chronic disease accounts for more than "75 cents of every dollar spent on health care in the United States and is the No. 1 cause of death and disability."

The Partnership, which launched an Ohio chapter this week, was founded by health economist and former Clinton health policy advisor Kenneth Thorpe with former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Richard Carmona and former Medicare chief Mark McClellan. The Partnership's Ohio chapter will officially launch on Thursday, November 1 with a news conference at 10 p.m., followed by an Ohio Advocates for Health Care Access (OAHCA) meeting with Thorpe and others. The news conference and meeting will be held on the 31st Floor of Riffe Center in Columbus. To register, contact Stephanie Pavol at (614) 220-8659.