October 18, 2000
The Honorable Amy Bondurant
U.S. Mission to the OECD
19 Rue de Franqueville
75016 Paris, France
Dear Madame Ambassador:
I am writing on the behalf of the U.S. Council for International Business to express our support for the new OECD health care work program, which is outlined in the OECD paper “A New Horizontal Project on Health Care” (DEELSA/ELSA/WP1(2000)2). We hope that the U.S. Government will respond positively to OECD Secretary-General Donald Johnston’s request for input on what should be the priorities within the OECD health care work program, as well as provide financial contributions to support these new projects.
I am attaching for your information the U.S. business views on the priorities for the work program. Our views are based on the work of the USCIB Health Care Working Group, which works directly with the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC) and with the other intergovernmental organizations to promote innovative market-oriented approaches to health care reform. The Working Group consists of U.S. business representatives from several industries, including health care technology, pharmaceutical, health insurance and health care providers.
The U.S. Council welcomes the efforts within the OECD to organize its health care policy work in a horizontal manner, a development long advocated by BIAC. This new strategy for the health care policy work of the OECD Employment, Labor and Social Affairs Committee demonstrates the increased relevance of health care issues across a wide spectrum of OECD Committees and activities.
Thank you for your attention. We look forward to working with you on the new OECD health care work program.
Sincerely,
Thomas M.T. Niles
CC: Alan Larson, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs
Doug Worth, BIAC Secretary-General
BCC: Faye Baggiano, Electronic Data Systems
Helena Brus, Merck
