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{{Show badges|Front groups}}The '''Healthcare Leadership Council''' (HLC) is funded by a coalition of hospitals, health plans, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, biotech firms, health product distributors, pharmacies and biotech companies whose academic health centers. The organization's stated mission is "improving the affordability, innovation, and quality of American health care - already the best in the world." <ref name="About">Healthcare Leadership Council, [http://www.hlc.org/html/about_us.html "About Us"], accessed March 2008.</ref> On its website it states that "HLC builds grassroots coalitions at the community level to pursue its goals for America’s patients. Six regionally based field directors conduct meetings and facility tours with members of Congress, organize health briefings and forums to educate local media and the public, and form local health advisory committees to advocate for innovative, high-quality and affordable health care."<ref name="About"/> Comprised entirely of CEOs, the council is a policy tool advocacy organization which states that it promotes "providing access to health care for industry to promote its business interests in Congress. It promotes rollbacks the uninsured, implementation of some government regulations Medicare modernization, and supports replacing government programs medical liability reform are important HLC priorities, along with private-sector structureshealth care quality and patient safety, health information technology, patient privacy and addressing the health care workforce shortage. "<ref name="About"/> == Funding Advocating corporate takeover of Medicare== In September 2011 the HLC announced in a press release a scheme that would lead the U.S. toward a complete corporate takeover of the Medicare program. The drug industry gives plan would gradually move Medicare beneficiaries into a privatized system by, in the words of the council deep pockets. In 1999press release, "creat[ing] a new 'Medicare Exchange' in which private plans would compete on the council had total revenue basis of $4cost, quality and value." Former insurance industry PR executive-turned-consumer-advocate warned that the program was essentially Paul Ryan's health care plan utilizing a voucher system, but executed in a slower fashion.7 million<ref>Wendell Potter [https://www. It pays prwatch.org/news/2011/09/11038/health-care-front-group-provides-new-clothes-gop-medicare-privatization-plan Health Care Front Group Provides New Clothes for GOP Medicare Privatization Plan], PRWatch.org, September 25, 2011</ref> == Funding == The organization's revenue is derived from dues assessed to its president nearly $600members,000 representing a year in salary and benefitsvariety of health care sectors, as mentioned above. In March 2008, HLC has many pharmaceutical and biotech companies as memberswere<ref>Healthcare Leadership Council, [http://www.hlc.org/html/hlc_members. In 1998-99html "Members of The Healthcare Leadership Council"], they includedaccessed March 2008.</ref>: * [[Abbott Laboratories (PhRMA) ]]*[[Aetna]]*[[Amerinet]]* American Home Products (PhRMA) [[AmerisourceBergen Corporation]]* [[Amgen (PhRMA) ]] *[[Aptuit]]*[[Ascension Health Care]]*[[Assurant Health]]*[[AstraZeneca]]* [[Baxter International ]]*[[Baylor Health Care System]]*[[BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee]]*[[Cardinal Health]], Inc.* Bristol-Myers Squibb (PhRMA) [[Cleveland Clinic Foundation]]*[[CVS Caremark]]* [[Eli Lilly ]] & Company (PhRMA) * Fisher Scientific International [[Evanston Northwestern Healthcare]]* Genentech (PhRMA) [[Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System]], Inc.* Glaxo Wellcome (PhRMA) (now [[GlaxoSmithKline]]) * Hoffman-LaRoche (PhRMA) [[Hospira]], Inc.* [[Johnson & Johnson (PhRMA) ]] *[[Lahey Clinic]]* Knoll Pharmaceuticals Co. (PhRMA) [[Marshfield Clinic]]* Mallinckrodt [[Mayo Clinic]]* [[Merck ]] & Company (PhRMA) * [[McKesson Corporation]]*[[MedAssets]], Inc.*[[MemorialCare]]*[[New York Presbyterian Hospital]]*[[Novo Nordisk]]*[[Pfizer (PhRMA) ]]*[[Premier]], Inc.* Schering[[sanofi-Plough aventis]]*[[Texas Health Resources]]*[[Theragenics Corporation (PhRMA) ]]*[[University of Wisconsin Health]]*[[VHA]] Inc.* SmithKline Beecham (PhRMA) (now [[GlaxoSmithKlineVanderbilt University School of Nursing]]) In addition==Contact Details==Healthcare Leadership Council<br>750 9th Street, the presidentsNW Suite 500<br>Washington, chairmen andDC 20001<br>Phone: 202/452-8700 <br>Fax: 202/or CEOs of the following PhRMA members are on the council's board of trustees296-9561<br>Website: http: Amgen, Merck & Co//www., Johnson & Johnson, Glaxo Wellcome, Abbott Laboratories, and Hoffmann-La Rochehlc. org/html == History Articles and Resources=====Sources=== <references/> The HLC organizes "grassroots" campaign using the astroturf PR firm of Bonner & Associates. In 1994, an aide to Alabama Democratic Senator Howell Heflin was surprised when a letter signed with his own name arrived in Hefflin's office strongly objecting to President Clinton's health care plan. The aide, Steve Raby, had called the HLC a week earlier, but had not given permission to send any such letter. "I said, 'I disagree with your message,'" he recalled telling the operator. ===Related SourceWatch Articles=== *[[Grassroots]]Bonner shrugged off the incident, saying, "Mistakes happen." *[[Third party technique]] === External links Articles=== *Public Citizen, "[[Category:Health]][[httpcategory://www.citizen.org/congress/reform/drug_industry/contribution/articles.cfm?ID=4538 Citizens for Better MedicareUnited States]][[category: The Truth Behind the Drug Industry's Deception of America's Seniors-funded organizations]][[Category: US Health Care System]]."