Paul S. Speranza Jr., who heads the RBA Healthcare Initiative, traveled to Washington, D.C. June 23 to testify on health care reform legislation before the House of Representatives' Education and Labor Committee.

Speranza, who is vice chairman, general counsel and secretary for Wegmans Food Markets, was testifying on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, of which he is past chairman, and the Rochester Business Alliance. In addition to heading the RBA Healthcare Initiative, Speranza serves on the RBA's board of directors and executive committee.

"The key concepts I want to share with you today are collaboration and common ground, just as we have done in Rochester, N.Y.," Speranza said in his testimony.

He went on to describe programs developed under the RBA Healthcare Initiative, including helping launch a regional health information organization, assisting local hospitals with implementing lean six sigma principles to increase efficiencies, and a community-wide rollout of Wegmans' "eat well. live well" challenge, which to date has engaged more than 44,000 employees of more than 300 local organizations and businesses. He also cited a new partnership between RBA and the Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency formed to work on some community health initiatives.

"Our goal is to be the healthiest community in America," Speranza said. "We invite each (House) committee member and President Obama to come to Rochester and learn about what we have done."

Speranza said the U.S. Chamber and the Rochester Business Alliance "applaud Congress for making health reform a priority," but added that there are "grave reservations about the process being used to advance this legislation." He cited the calling of hearings just four days after the 850-page bill was released and urged Congress to slow down the process to allow "proper time for consideration and revision."

"The Chamber hopes that the sponsors of this legislation will conduct a process that truly engages stakeholders and discards this rush to legislate, and that they build a piece of legislation that solves the problems we face without creating massive new problems or significantly disrupts the current system," Speranza testified.

Speranza said that while the proposed legislation has many positive aspects, the business community does have some serious concerns.

He said that plans to create a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurer is unfair in that the artificially low premiums the government would be able to offer would likely drive private insurers out of business, with a result that citizens would have no choice but to take government-run health insurance. Speranza said free competition is the American way, and he does not want to see any company competing against a government-run entity, whether it be a health insurer, a manufacturer, a grocery store or any other type of business.

Speranza also strongly urged Congress to avoid new taxes to fund health care reform, particularly proposals to tax employee health care benefits.

"There are not enough ‘rich' people in America to pay for this $1.6 trillion plan," he said. "Taxes of many others will rise." Coupled with other major government expenditures, this plan will likely lead to inflation, he said, "which is essentially a tax on everyone, especially the poorest of the poor."

Speranza called for other ways to bring down costs in the system, including medical liability reform, inducements to employers to create wellness programs, and such options as allowing individuals and the self-employed to use pre-tax dollars to purchase health insurance.