Paris, 22 June 2011 – “Governments and the private sector need to work together to offer innovative solutions for health promotion, disease prevention and treatment that will help address the rising health care costs and challenges presented by ageing populations,” stated Ms. Nicole Denjoy, Chair of the BIAC Task Force on Health Care Policy. “We need to move from sick care to health care.”

Speaking to over 100 senior policymakers, business figures and academics at the OECD 50th Anniversary Health Conference on meeting the challenges of ageing and multiple morbidities, co-sponsored by the Business Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC), Ms. Denjoy highlighted the business case for greater collaboration with governments to generate improved health outcomes and greater efficiency in the future.

Business, as contributors to health budgets, employers of older workers, and providers of goods and services, has a vested interest in reducing the overall cost burden, while increasing efficiency and quality of health care. Close co-operation with governments will help incentivise the business community to make the necessary investments today that will yield the solutions needed for tomorrow.

Despite big improvements in health since the founding of the OECD in 1961, health policies have been slow to adapt to new challenges. Addressing the health care needs of the future requires urgent attention from policymakers as the transformation for the health care system takes years to develop and implement.

Some of the areas needing modernising, and where business can provide considerable expertise, include financing and payment systems, human resource policies, and innovation and partnership approaches; three of the major issues addressed during the conference.

BIAC recommends elevating ageing to a horizontal priority for the OECD and welcomes future opportunities to provide business input to OECD work in this area.

BIAC’s submission to the conference can be found online: www.biac.org/policygrp/profile-health.htm

For more on the OECD conference: www.oecd.org/health/50yearconference

Founded in 1962 as an independent organisation, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD (BIAC) is the officially recognised representative of the OECD business community. BIAC’s members are the major business organisations in the OECD member countries and a number of OECD observer countries.

For more information, contact Mark Primmer, BIAC Head of Communications, at mark.primmer@biac.org, or tel.: +33 1 4230 0960


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