City of Philadelphia - File #: 110019

• File #: 110019
• Version: 0
• Type: Resolution
• Status: ADOPTED
• File created: 1/27/2011
• In control: Committee on Labor and Civil Service
• Title: Authorizing the Committee on Labor and Civil Service to hold hearings investigating ways that targeting medical resources can help the City of Philadelphia improve the quality and reduce the cost of providing health care services to its employees and citizens.
• Sponsors: Councilmember Green, Councilmember Jones, Councilmember Goode, Councilmember Rizzo, Councilmember Tasco, Councilmember DiCicco, Councilmember Clarke, Council President Verna, Councilmember Blackwell, Councilmember Reynolds Brown, Councilmember Greenlee, Councilmember Miller, Councilmember Sanchez, Councilmember O'Neill

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
4/28/2011	0	Committee on Labor and Civil Service	HEARING NOTICES SENT
4/28/2011	0	Committee on Labor and Civil Service	HEARING HELD
4/28/2011	0	Committee on Labor and Civil Service	RECESSED
2/3/2011	0	CITY COUNCIL	ADOPTED & REFERRED
1/27/2011	0	CITY COUNCIL	Introduced and Ordered Placed On Next Week's Final Passage Calendar	Pass

Title
Authorizing the Committee on Labor and Civil Service to hold hearings investigating ways that targeting medical resources can help the City of Philadelphia improve the quality and reduce the cost of providing health care services to its employees and citizens.
Body
WHEREAS, Health care expenditures represent more than 17% of the nation's gross domestic product, with costs predicted to continue increasing in future years; and

WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia plans to spend close to $400 million on health care benefits for its employees and more than $120 million on health-related services to its citizens this year; and

WHEREAS, In the ten-year period from Fiscal Year 2002 to Fiscal Year 2011, City spending for employee health benefits increased $183.3 million - this over 80% increase is more than three times greater than the 25.1% rate of regional inflation during this period, as measured by the Consumer Price Index; and

WHEREAS, The fee-for-service payment structure that is standard in most health care plans creates few incentives for health care providers to reduce costs or to improve the quality and efficiency of care provided to patients; and

WHEREAS, A January 24, 2011 article in The New Yorker by Dr. Atul Gawande titled "The Hot Spotters: Can we lower medical costs by giving the neediest patients better care?" highlighted two innovative examples in New Jersey, one in Atlantic City and one in Camden, whereby health care costs are being reduced and health outcomes improved by targeting resources and outpatient care to patients with high, recurrent medical costs; and

WHEREAS, In 2007, the Atlantic City casino workers' union and the AtlantiCare Medical Center, both of which are self-insured and account for the two largest groups of employees in the city, partnered together to open the Special Care Center. Union members and hospital employees wh...