WASHINGTON, DC - January 14, 2008 - The Aspen Institute has named Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey; Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Joseph Hogan, president and CEO of GE Healthcare, as co-chairs of the Aspen Health Stewardship Project. They join Mark Ganz, president and CEO of Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield, in leading the new project to help transform health care.

Launched this past fall, the project is a major initiative to reframe and broaden the national dialogue on health care reform leading up to the 2008 presidential election and beyond. The project is developing principles to help chart the wisest course for the nation’s reform efforts and questions to pose to the presidential candidates, all of which will be published, along with the candidates’ responses.

"We're calling on the candidates and the public at large to prioritize stewardship of our shared health resources in the same sense that we prioritize stewardship of the environment," Gov. Whitman said.

In addition to the co-chairs, the project features an advisory board of 12 people, including doctors, scholars, health policy experts and information technology thought leaders. The full list of advisory board members is provided below. The project also is supported by a team of research faculty from the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.

Ganz, who helped conceive of the project, said it seeks to expand the health care debate to address not just the symptoms but the root causes of the nation’s broken system.

"One of our main goals is to prompt the candidates to consider how to address the shortcomings of the health care system beyond the issue of universal access," Ganz said. "Only by shifting the culture underlying our health care system can we make real progress toward a system that is affordable and sustainable, and that delivers quality- and customer-oriented health care to every American."

Project Director Michelle McMurry said that as the presidential candidates consider how to improve the nation's health care system and debate the relative merits of their proposals, they must bear in mind that "access is not enough."

"The stewardship project picks up where the insurance debate leaves off and aims to give Americans the tools they need to take charge of their own health," Dr. McMurry said.

Among other topics, the advisory board's initial discussions have addressed the need for the nation to get serious about prevention; the importance of early detection of disease to enable more successful treatment; the implementation of electronic medical records; the rationale for transparency throughout the health care system; and the importance of measuring programs and treatment approaches, and finding ways to reward the most successful among them.

For more information on the Aspen Health Stewardship Project, contact Noah Bartolucci, project communications director, at (202) 736-2536 or noah.bartolucci@aspeninstitute.org. What follows is the project advisory board.

Adam Bosworth, founder and CEO, Keas Inc.
Donald Berwick, president and CEO, Institute for Healthcare Improvement
Linda Carnes, senior advisor, CDC Office of Enterprise Communications
Delos "Toby" Cosgrove, president and CEO, The Cleveland Clinic
Craig Fuller, executive vice president, APCO Worldwide
Mark Ganz, president and CEO of Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield *
Julie Gerberding, director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention *
C. Martin Harris, chief information officer, Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Joseph Hogan, president and CEO of GE Healthcare *
Robert Honigberg, chief medical officer, GE Healthcare
Mark Pauly, chair of the Health Care Systems Department, the Wharton School of Business
Bradley Perkins, chief, CDC Office of Strategy and Innovation
Michael Porter, Bishop William Lawrence University Professor, Harvard Business School
Franklin Raines, president, Revolution Health
Elizabeth Teisberg, associate professor, Darden Graduate School of Business, UVA
Christine Todd Whitman, founder and president, The Whitman Strategy Group *

* Co-Chairs

The Aspen Institute, founded in 1950, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue. Through seminars, policy programs, conferences and leadership development initiatives, the Institute and its international partners seek to promote nonpartisan inquiry and an appreciation for timeless values. The Institute is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Its international network includes partner Aspen Institutes in Berlin, Rome, Lyon, Tokyo, New Delhi, and Bucharest, and leadership programs in Africa, Central America and India.

Aspen Institute

Aspen Institute

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also maintains offices in New York City and has an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org or follow on Twitter @AspenInstitute.

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