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2013 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 687
Directing the Joint Commission on Health Care to study the factors affecting health care costs. Report.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 4, 2013
Agreed to by the Senate, February 19, 2013

 

WHEREAS, $2.6 trillion was spent in 2010 on health care in the United States for an average of $8,402 per person; and

WHEREAS, the share of the gross domestic product devoted to health care increased from 7.2 percent in 1970 to 17.9 percent in 2010; and

WHEREAS, the cost of the health care system and the health of the workforce affect the Commonwealth’s economic competitiveness within the United States and globally; and

WHEREAS, employers continue to deal with uncertainty in the economy and the changes necessitated by the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, while assuming a more significant role in the provision of crucial employee health and wellness benefits; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Joint Commission on Health Care be directed to study the factors affecting health care costs.

In conducting its study, the Joint Commission on Health Care shall study and report on promising policies, practices, and initiatives expected to help control health care costs while maintaining quality of care. The Commission shall identify factors considered to be the primary contributors to increasing health care costs, review approaches undertaken in other states and countries to control health care costs, and examine the likely impact of federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provisions on the cost of health care. In conducting its study, the Commission shall confer with representatives of Virginia’s business community, health care providers, and other stakeholders as appropriate.

Technical assistance shall be provided to the Joint Commission on Health Care by the Bureau of Insurance of the Virginia State Corporation Commission. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Joint Commission on Health Care for this study, upon request.

The Joint Commission on Health Care shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2013, and the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first day of the 2014 Regular Session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall state whether the Joint Commission on Health Care intends to submit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.