What We Are

America's health care system is always a work in progress. Every year brings new challenges and new proposed solutions.

In the heat of debate, opinion leaders need an unbiased source of information so they can understand the roots of the nation's health care problems and the trade-offs posed by competing proposals for change. The Alliance for Health Reform exists to provide that information. We offer a full array of resources and viewpoints, in a number of formats, to elected officials and their staffs, journalists, policy analysts and advocates.

A nonpartisan, nonprofit group, the Alliance believes that all in the U.S. should have health coverage at a reasonable cost. But we do not lobby for any particular blueprint, nor do we take positions on legislation. Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, a national leader in health policy, chairs the Alliance's board of directors and Senator William H. Frist of Tennessee, Senate majority leader and a heart and lung transplant surgeon, serves as the vice chairman. The diverse board includes distinguished leaders from the fields of health care, business, labor and consumer advocacy. Ed Howard, an attorney long active in national health care issues, heads the Alliance's staff.

Since 1991, the Alliance has organized more than 200 forums in Washington and around the nation, each presenting a balance of expert views. Our forums on Capitol Hill have become so popular that we often receive more than 250 registrations in a day's time. We cosponsor an annual retreat for senior congressional legislative staff dealing with health matters. We have briefed reporters, editorial writers and producers in newsrooms across the country on health policy debates in Washington and how they affect local citizens. The Alliance also has published five highly regarded guides for journalists on covering health issues, with a sixth scheduled to appear this fall.

In addition, we produce issue briefs regularly on current topics such as "The Uninsured and Rising Health Costs" and "HSAs and High-Deductible Health Plans: A Primer." The Alliance's media resource service assists journalists nationwide to develop articles and broadcasts on health care issues. We also maintain an online Find-an-Expert service for reporters which allows finely tuned searches designed for the differing needs of print and broadcast journalists.