U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt to Deliver Keynote on Building a Health Care System Based on Value at 5th Annual World Health Care Congress, April 21-23, Washington, D.C.

Secretary Leavitt to join 1,800 CEOs and executives for 'who's who' program of industry leaders from business and government 


WOBURN, Mass., April 1, 2008  /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt will deliver a keynote address on "Building a Health Care System Based on Value" at the 5th Annual World Health Care Congress, April 21-23, Washington, D.C.  His remarks highlight a three- day roster of more than 225 speakers and a delegation of 1,800 CEOs and senior-level executives from all sectors of health care.  Secretary Leavitt will deliver his address on Wednesday, April 23, 11:30 a.m., immediately followed by a press conference.

Secretary Leavitt's Value-Driven Health Care initiative is a foundation- building effort based on the goal that every American has access to a full range of information about the quality and cost of their health care options. It is a starting point for a vision that involves thousands of players -- including government, payers, providers, plans and consumers -- with widely different interests.  Achieving success in building a health care system based on value depends on a common understanding of the need and the goals, and on a continuing effort to increase efficiency and maintain trust.

The World Health Care Congress is the premier forum for health care executives to explore a myriad of emerging issues and to network with key leaders.  The 2008 Congress will include senior executives and government officials from the nation's largest employers, hospitals, health systems, health plans, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and government.

One of the program's many highlights, the "Presidential Health Care Agenda," will feature key health care advisors to Presidential hopefuls Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain, followed by an in-depth critique by panelists, including former U.S. Secretary of state George Shultz, co-author of a recently published health care reform book.

  FEATURED WHCC 2008 SPEAKERS INCLUDE:
  Steve Burd, Chairman and CEO, Safeway Foods
  James Hagedorn, CEO, Scotts Miracle-Gro Company
  Delos (Toby) Cosgrove, MD CEO, Cleveland Clinic
  Denis Cortese, MD, CEO, Mayo Clinic
  Herbert Pardes, MD, Chairman CEO, New York Presbyterian Hospital
  Reed Tuckson, MD, EVP and Chief of Medical Affairs, UnitedHealth Group
  George Halvorson, Chairman and CEO, Kaiser Foundation
  Mack Banner, CEO, Bumrungrad International (Thailand)
  Sam Nussbaum, MD, EVP and Chief Medical Officer, Wellpoint
  David Cordani, President, CIGNA HealthCare
  Uwe Reinhardt, PhD, Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Princeton
   University
  U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) health care policy advisor to Sen. Barack
   Obama
  Thomas Miller, health care policy advisor to Sen. John McCain
  Cal Ludeman, Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Health and Human
   Services
  Prof. Hans Rosling, PhD Professor of International Health, Karolinska
   Institutet (Sweden)
  Michael Howe, CEO, MinuteClinic
  James Roosevelt, President and CEO, Tufts Health Plan




Other emerging topics include innovations in health care delivery, value- based purchasing, personalized medicine and medical travel.  In addition, Prof. Clayton Christensen of Harvard Business School and Denis Cortese, MD, CEO of Mayo Clinic will lead Executive Retreats designed exclusively for CEOs that address pressing challenges facing health care innovations and learning organizations, respectively.

About the 5th Annual World Health Care Congress

The 5th Annual World Health Care Congress is presented, in part, through the support of Healthways, Humana, ChangeNow4Health, UnitedHealth Group, Health Dialog, Sanofi Aventis, Booz Allen Hamilton, VSP, TriZetto, Microsoft, McKesson, KCI, MasterCard, Boston Consulting, Cognizant, Hewitt, ActiveHealth Management, Aon Consulting, Health Management Corporation and Best Doctors.

  CONTACT: Patrick Golden 781.939.2511
  Patrick.golden@worldcongress.com
  PROGRAM AGENDA: http://www.whcc2008.com/
  MEDIA REGISTRATION: http://www.whcc2008.com/mediareg


World Health Care Congress