ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Citing the myriad challenges facing the United States---including an ailing health care system --- seven health care industry leaders are urging President-elect Barack Obama to convene a "Health Care Summit," with a mandate for legislative action within 100 days, to jumpstart reform in the United States.

Their "Open Letter to the New U.S. President: Health Care Reform in America" appears in the fall issue of INQUIRY, the journal of health care organization, provision and financing.

"Our health care system is broken. Patient safety, quality, and cost problems abound; the ranks of the uninsured and under-insured continue to grow; the health manpower supply is not keeping pace with need; and important safety-net hospitals are on the brink of bankruptcy or closure," the letter states..

". . .We cannot solve overnight all the problems affecting or caused by our health care system. But we must act on some now. We must reach consensus on a manageable, commonsense, and workable agenda. . .Precedence is on your side for demanding both speed and focused, accountable actions."

Signatories to the letter are: Howard Berman, publisher of INQUIRY in Rochester, N.Y.; Bruce McPherson, president and CEO of the Alliance for Advancing Nonprofit Health Care in Washington, D.C.; Roger M. Kenny, president of Boardroom Consultants in New York City; Anthony Cirillo, principal of Fast Forward Strategic Planning and Marketing Consulting in Huntersville, N.C.; Wayne M. Lerner, president and CEO of Holy Cross Hospital in Chicago; John O'Brien, president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc., in Worcester, Mass.; and Douglas Brown, senior vice president and general counsel of UMass Memorial.

The authors offer a framework for the summit, recommending actions, both immediate and longer term, for health care delivery reform, health promotion and illness prevention, and health care access. The letter urges the new president "not to invite the 'usual suspects,'" but rather to "reach out to those who will have to make the actions work."

"We recognize, Mr. President, that you face a number of difficult challenges," the letter concludes. "Health care is just one of them, but a very critical one. We are confident that, starting with a pragmatic approach, real progress can be made."

To read the letter in its entirety, go to http://www.inquiryjournalonline.org/pdfserv/i0046-9580-045-03-0249.pdf

INQUIRY is a peer-reviewed scholarly publication. Now in its 45th year, it is published quarterly by Excellus Health Plan, Inc. Press releases and article abstracts are available at www.inquiryjournal.org under "Current Issue Table of Contents."