HGPII’s 2012 Best Practices Forum Held in Washington, DC

WASHINGTON, DC — MARCH 7, 2012 — A distinguished gathering of lawmakers, health policy experts, Capitol Hill staffers, and health care industry representatives met March 7 in Washington, DC, at the Healthcare Group Purchasing Industry Initiative’s (HGPII) 2012 Best Practices Forum. The daylong forum of panel discussions and breakout sessions focused on ways to promote transparency and enhanced ethical business practices in purchasing for hospitals and other health care providers as part of an effort to lower the health care costs.



Former US Congressman Phil English, R-Penn., currently HGPII’s Coordinator, served as the chair and moderator of the 2012 Best Practices Forum, and praised the event by noting “Health care group purchasing organizations, or GPOs, play a key role in the health care system by negotiating effective and cost-efficient contractual agreements with suppliers of medical products and service. By aggregating the purchasing needs of their members, including hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical care providers, GPOs lower the purchase costs and reduce the prices at which products and services are provided to patients. It is therefore imperative that the public and government have confidence in the integrity of the industry. That is why we have all gathered here today.”

English noted that participation in the annual forum is mandatory for HGPII members, and part of the process for certifying that each organization is complying with industry standards and promoting transparency in the marketplace for health care goods and services.

English moderated the day’s first panel discussion, titled “Politics of Health Care,” between former US Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, and US Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-ND. English, Sen. Dorgan, and Sen. Bennett are members of the Arent Fox LLP Government Relations Practice, which advises HGPII on the Initiative’s efforts to promote transparency and accountability within the health care group purchasing industry.

Lee Perlman, chair of HGPII’s Steering Committee delivered a State of the Industry Address, discussing the Initiative’s ongoing efforts to uphold and promote ethical standards and practices within the health care purchasing industry.

Jonathan Blum, Deputy Administrator and Director for the Center of Medicare at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, delivered the Forum’s keynote address.

Congressman English later moderated a discussion of “hot health care topics” on Capitol Hill among top staff invited from US House and Senate Committees, including the Senate Finance Committee, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the Health Subcommittee of the US Ways and Means Committee, and key health care policy staff for several Members of Congress.

HGPII’s independent Advisory Council participated in a panel discussion regarding business ethics. The Advisory Council is composed of ethics experts from The Center for Business Ethics at Bentley University, one of the world’s leading research and educational institutes in the field of business ethics; the Ethics Resources Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to independent research and advancing high ethical standards and practices in public and private institutions; and the International Business Ethics Institute, an educational organization devoted to fostering global ethics standards and practices that promote responsible business conduct.

The program also featured presentations by leaders from health care and medical supply companies, as well as legal experts exploring current issues relative to the healthcare supply chain.

“This was a very important and informative event,” said Mr. Perlman. “The 2012 Best Practices Forum provides an ideal venue for government officials, ethicists, medical suppliers, health care industry leaders, and group purchasing organizations to come together, compare notes, and formulate ideas that help lower the costs of high-quality health care for all Americans.”

HGPII is a private, voluntary, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that brings industry competitors together to promote industry best practices to conduct business at the highest ethical level, with accountability to the public and government through transparency. The Initiative was created in 2005 by the chief executives of nine group purchasing organizations (GPOs). At HGPII’s founding meeting on May 13, 2005, Initiative members adopted an annual accountability process, which emphasized an unprecedented level of dedication to transparency and public accountability within the industry, and the need to develop an industry-wide standard of ethics and best practices.

Health care group purchasing organizations play a key role in the healthcare system by negotiating effective and cost-efficient contractual agreements with suppliers of medical products/services for the benefit of multiple healthcare providers. GPOs aggregate the purchasing needs of their members, including hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical care providers, thereby lowering the purchase costs and reducing the prices at which products and services are provided to patients. The value of GPOs to their members has never been greater as providers face escalating fiscal pressure in the wake of Federal and state-level cuts to Medicare and Medicaid payments.

About HGPII: The Healthcare Group Purchasing Industry Initiative (HGPII) is an association of group purchasing organizations from throughout the United States. HGPII is committed to promoting best ethical and business practices in the group purchasing industry. HGPII’s current member organizations are: Amerinet, Inc., CHCA, GNYHA Ventures, Inc., HealthTrust Purchasing Group, HPS, Innovatix, MedAssets, Novation, Premier Inc., and Yankee Alliance.