ADVISORY/`Health Care in Crisis: A Perfect Storm?'.

News Reporters & Assignment Desks

REMINDER...for Thursday (Jan. 23)

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

What: "The American health care system is confronting a crisis," according to a report just released by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine. The report concludes that the healthcare delivery system is incapable of meeting the present, let alone the future needs of the American public. Over 13% of our gross domestic product is currently spent on health, and government forecasts indicate that share may reach 16% during the next five years. Health care costs are rising -- some 13% each year -- several times the overall inflation rate -- and show no signs of abating. Despite the dramatically increased spending, the number of uninsured and underinsured Americans is rising. The "imperfect market" for health care results in alarming imbalances in the supply and demand for critical health care resources. And finding solutions is difficult in what may well be the most complex, and least understood, industry in our country. Leading Health care experts: The Employer, The Health Plan Executive, The Hospital Administrator and The Physician will discuss the biggest open issues including:

-- How can we provide access to essential, affordable and quality health care for all Americans?

-- What are the major drivers of the increase in health care costs?

-- What are the infrastructure and financial challenges facing hospitals?

-- What is the effect on physicians of reductions in Medicare reimbursement rates and the high cost and limited availability of medical malpractice insurance?

-- What are the "best practices" of employers in providing health benefits?

-- What are the challenges of health care plans as buyers of and facilitators who access health care services?

-- With the prospect of a $2.5 billion deficit in the Illinois state budget, what are the implications for Medicaid providers and recipients?

-- As consumers, what can each of us do to ensure the viability of our health care system?

Who:  Honey Jacobs Skinner, Partner, Sidley Austin Brown & Wood; Larry
      J. Goodman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Rush
      Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center; Gary A. Mecklenburg,
      President and CEO, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare; William E.
      Moeller, President and Chief Executive Officer, UnitedHealthcare
      Illinois; Nancy M. Thurber, Director, Benefits, W.W. Grainger,
      Inc.

When: Thursday, January 23, 2003

    11:00 - 11:30 a.m. Electronic Media check-in outside the Regency
    Ballroom,(set-up must be completed by 11:30 a.m., no exceptions)

    11:30 - 12:00 p.m. General Media check-in outside the Regency
    Ballroom

    12:00 p.m. Luncheon begins in the Regency Ballroom

    12:25 p.m. Program begins in the Regency Ballroom

Where: The Hyatt Regency Hotel
       Regency Ballroom (West Tower)
       151 East Wacker Drive
       Chicago, IL