Henry Simmons, M.D., President, National Coalition on Health Care
Biography provided by participant
Dr. Henry Simmons, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P., has served as president of the National Coalition on Health Care since he founded the organization in 1990. The Coalition is the nation's largest and most broadly representative alliance working to improve America's health care system.
Earlier, Simmons held a variety of distinguished posts in both the public and private sectors. During the Nixon and Ford administrations, Simmons served as deputy assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW), director of the Office of Professional Standards Review at HEW, and director of the Bureau of Drugs at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). President Reagan appointed Simmons as one of two physician members to serve on the Grace Commission.
Immediately following his federal service, Simmons became a senior vice president at the J. Walter Thompson Company. Simmons has also held the posts of president and chief executive officer of the Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington, New Jersey, as well as senior vice president and director of the Health Care Division of Sears World Trade, Inc. In addition, Simmons was director of the Health and Medical Consulting Division at Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Company.
Simmons has been associated with numerous universities and medical centers across the country. He was appointed visiting research professor at the George Washington University School of Business and Government; served as faculty member and consultant in rheumatic diseases and internal medicine at Tufts New England Medical Center; professor of community and family medicine at Rutgers University School of Medicine; assistant clinical professor of medicine at Georgetown University; and associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine.
Throughout his career, Simmons has testified before the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Simmons has received frequent recognition for his service in both the private and public sectors. Among his honors have been the FDA Award of Merit, the HEW Certificate of Merit, and the Annual Oliver Wendell Holmes Society Lectureship.
Simmons received undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University.
House Democrats and for that matter, every Member of Congress, should be concerned about every factor of health care costs, including the amount of profit generated. At the same time, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) is correct in pointing out that health plan profits are not the major factor driving health care costs. In fact, a recent Atlantic Monthly Magazine article concluded, that confiscating the annual profits of every U.S. health insurance company, would pay for only four days of health care for all Americans, while seizing the profits of the ten largest U.S. drug companies would pay for only… Read more
While the Senate Finance Committee has made progress, the Committee’s proposal in its present form fails to meet the challenges posed by the health system cost crisis facing both government and the private sector. Individuals, families and businesses large and small, as well as the public sector, would continue to face skyrocketing yearly health care cost increases. Short-term and long-term cost containment measures must be added to assure the sustainability of a new health system law. In addition, the bill falls far short of providing quality, affordable coverage for all America. Absent full coverage, successful health system reform is unachievable.… Read more
Our nation faces two extremely serious and interconnected problems, i.e., a health care crisis and an economic crisis. Neither problem can be resolved without simultaneously addressing the other. Without comprehensive health system reform, the exponentially rising costs of health care will bankrupt the Nation, businesses of all sizes, families and individuals. We cannot afford to do nothing. The status quo simply is not an option. He should then say: The magnitude of these crises was daunting seven months ago and they remain so today. However, with the help of many, the campaign to enact major health system reform this… Read more
The National Coalition on Health Care joins the Nation in mourning the loss of Senator Edward M. Kennedy and celebrating his unmatched legacy of public service, perseverance and leadership in the legislative arena. For over three decades it has been our honor to work with Senator Kennedy in building bipartisan support for a better future for all Americans. His commitment to a nation of high principle and bold endeavors immeasurably improved countless lives. In this time of remembrance, we rededicate ourselves to seeing what Ted Kennedy called the cause of his life – the enactment of sustainable reform to ensure… Read more
I believe and our Coalition agrees that an honest, open, and intense national debate about health system reform is essential. Unfortunately much of the August P.R. “offensive” has been anything but and instead has been riddled with misinformation, fear tactics, demagoguery, and in some instances, outright distortion of facts (e.g., the charges of death panels and euthanasia.) Tactics such as these have been used many times before to fight necessary reform efforts proposed by both Republican and Democratic Presidents, most recently in the reform efforts advanced by President Clinton. In their study of that effort, and why it failed,… Read more
Updated at 9:42 a.m. on July 21. None of the above. Congress and the President have made great progress toward achieving comprehensive health care reform but there remains some unfinished business before we cross the finish line with sustainable health system reform. It is unfortunate that so much of the reporting on testimony given by CBO Director Elmendorf has been misleading and taken out of context. Director Elmendorf has served our nation well by “speaking the truth,” but he and the process have been ill-served when preliminary figures intended to inform the legislative process, which do not represent any complete… Read more
Biography provided by participant
