Ohio Chamber budget report includes health recommendations

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce and nine metropolitan chambers of commerce from across the state have released a report on the state’s looming budget shortfall, including a series of suggestions on reducing health costs (Source: “Ohio chambers call for overhaul of city, state spending,” Toledo Blade, Dec. 21, 2010).

“Unless Ohio finds a sustainable solution to the rising cost of providing health care, it is unlikely that we can recover from the fiscal crisis we face today,” the report concludes.

The health care costs chapter in Redesigning Ohio: Transforming Government into a 21st Century Institution (pdf, 52 pages) includes recommendations such as:

• Leveraging the state’s health purchasing power to reform payment, including moving to a “global payment” model
• Supporting the creation of accountable care organizations
• Improving transparency and access to price and quality data