The Board of Directors of the Public Sector HealthCare Roundtable adopted its first two legislative policies at its Nov. 30 meeting, coming out in favor of measures aimed at improving health care quality and containing costs.

The policy statement on quality specifies support for improved technology and pay for performance initiatives as well as the funding of research that compares the relative effectiveness of various prescription drugs and medical devices.

The Board indicated in its support for cost containment that it would oppose measures that would raise the costs of prescription drugs - such as by extending the lengths of patents - while supporting proposals that would increase access to cheaper drugs, such as generics, and that provide federal financial support for employer-provided retiree health coverage.