California Public Employees’ Retirement System
Office of Public Affairs(916) 795-3991
•
www.calpers.ca.gov
Brad Pacheco, Chief
Contact:
Jeanie Esajian, Information Officer
PressRoom@calpers.ca.gov
December 10, 2009
PRESS RELEASE
CalPERS Voices Strong Support for ExpandedCost Containment Measures in Senate HealthCare Bill
Calls on Congress to Pass Legislation that Lowers Costs,Improves Quality
SACRAMENTO, CA
– The California Public Employees’ Retirement System(CalPERS) today expressed strong support for efforts in the U.S. Senate tostrengthen provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to improvethe health care delivery system and contain soaring medical costs.“The amendment package introduced will go even further to streamline andimprove our health care delivery system, which means billions of dollars insavings to private and public purchasers alike,” CalPERS Chief Executive OfficerAnne Stausboll said. “We commend the group of eleven first-term Senators foraddressing the urgent need to move aggressively to slow the growth in medicalcosts.”Next year, CalPERS is on track to spend $6 billion for health care for its active andretired members as the second-largest purchaser of health care in the nation.The eleven first-term Senators include: Mark Udall (D-CO), Thomas Udall (D-NM), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Warner (D-VA), Kay Hagan (D-NC), JeffMerkley (D-OR), Mark Begich (D-AK), Roland Burris (D-IL), Edward Kaufman (D-DE), Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Paul Kirk (D-MA).“The proposal, which builds on critical cost containment provisions included in theunderlying legislation thoughtfully produced by the Majority Leader, the SenateFinance Committee, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and PensionsCommittee, will mean higher quality care at a lower cost for hundreds ofthousands of active and retired public employees and their dependents,” Stausboll