For Immediate Release:

“Covering Carolina Collaborative” Unites Key Business, Medical, Insurance Leaders
in Effort to Provide Affordable Health Care Coverage to Every South Carolinian by 2010

Columbia, SC – July 24, 2007 – A diverse, non-partisan coalition of key business, health care, and insurance industry leaders joined forces today with the stated goal of providing every South Carolinian with access to quality, affordable health care by the year 2010. Led by the SC Chamber of Commerce, SC Hospital Association, SC Medical Association, and SC Alliance of Health Plans, the “COVERING CAROLINA COLLABORATIVE” represents the broadest, most powerful coalition ever assembled in South Carolina for the purpose of addressing health care issues.

“A challenge of this magnitude requires a united front and a unified sense of purpose,” said former Palmetto Health CEO Kester Freeman, President of the Collaborative. “With nearly half of our state’s population either uninsured or on Medicaid, we have no choice but to be ambitious in the goals we set and the solutions we seek on behalf of the well-being of the people of this state.”

Ed Sellers, President and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of SC and Secretary/Treasurer of the Collaborative, noted that insurers and providers will be working together on behalf of the business community and all citizens of South Carolina to devise a plan that’s workable and fair. “Creating an equitable solution we can implement together is the reason we are engaging such a wide spectrum of people and perspectives,” Sellers said. “In order to come up with solutions that meet the lofty criteria we’ve established for this effort, every one of us has an important role to play.”

Freeman and Sellers also announced that Kerr and Company had been retained to provide consulting services to the Collaborative. Robert M. Kerr, President and CEO of Kerr and Company and former Director of the SC Department of Health and Human Services, will serve as the Collaborative’s Executive Director. “This level of commitment and cooperation in addressing South Carolina’s health care challenges is truly unprecedented,” Kerr said. “It’s also essential in crafting the multi-faceted solutions necessary for us to achieve our ultimate goal.”

South Carolina currently ranks among the nation’s leaders in stroke deaths, infant mortality, and clinical obesity – as well as cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS diagnoses. The lack of adequate care is routinely cited as a key factor in each of these rankings.

As part of proposing a universal health care solution aimed at reversing these trends, the Collaborative is seeking to emphasize wellness and a renewed focus on preventive and primary care. Additionally, its objectives include establishing better continuity of care, enhancing the effectiveness of South Carolina’s health care delivery system and ensuring transparency in the information provided to consumers and care givers alike.

The Collaborative – whose membership list is published on the following page – will also seek public input during the course of its work. Members of the media will be notified in advance and invited to attend these public input sessions.