Don Crane, CEO of the California Association of Physician Groups, today released the following statement in reaction to Governor Schwarzenegger's health care reform legislation:
"Today's proposal is a health care plan that guarantees access for all and will drive down health care costs. For patients, one of the most noteworthy aspects of Governor Schwarzenegger's health care reform plan is his support for the coordinated care model of delivering health care services.
"California is experiencing the expensive, inefficient and unfriendly consequences of a disjointed delivery system. A successful health reform plan must be built on a provider foundation whereby medical groups work together within organized systems instead of built on loosely connected, unaffiliated physicians, which can expose patients to significant gaps in care and devastating financial surprises.
"The Governor accurately recognizes that health care costs can be reduced in the long-run through the investments in new technology and the coordination of care by medical groups and their networks of primary care and specialty physicians. Medical groups are able to achieve cost-efficiencies and economies of scale that actually improve patient care, which individual doctors cannot.
"California's medical groups support the core principles of the Governor's proposal - increasing affordability and providing Californians with lower cost, more convenient options for accessing health care services. This is a core framework for fixing our broken health care system and we encourage the Legislature to enact health care reform this year."
The California Association of Physician Groups is a professional association comprised of more than 150 of California's leading physician groups. These groups employ and/or contract with physicians who in turn provide healthcare services to approximately 13 million Californians. More than fifty percent of California's healthcare is delivered by physicians employed by or contracted with CAPG members. CAPG members are committed to improving and providing high quality, affordable healthcare for all Californians.
