CONCORD - Gov. John Lynch announced today that the inaugural meeting of his Citizens Health Initiative will be held next Thursday morning at the Grappone Center in Concord. Gov. Lynch will kick off the meeting at 9 a.m.

"The health insurance costs we are experiencing are not sustainable. We spend roughly 15 percent of our gross state product on health costs. We can't just look at the symptoms of the problem - health insurance rates, or Medicaid costs - we have to look at the underlying causes," Gov. Lynch said.

"This is national problem and not one that we can solve overnight. But New Hampshire is an innovative state with a 'can do' attitude and I strongly believe that if we work together we can find solutions that will become national models," Gov. Lynch said.

The New Hampshire Citizen's Health Initiative is a results-oriented effort to bring together health care providers, business leaders, workers, insurance experts and elected officials to focus on improving health care and controlling costs in New Hampshire.

"My goal is that 10 years from now, we will have created an environment where New Hampshire will have the healthiest population in the nation; where our medical care meets the highest quality standards; and where growth in costs is in line with the growth of our state economy," Gov. Lynch said.

Dr. James Squires, president of the Endowment for Health, and Dr. Rob Nordgren, executive director of Child Health Services, are serving as the co-chairs of task force.

The kick-off meeting of the Initiative will convene the participants of the project, explain the charge to the task force, and focus on outlining the Initiative's work plan for its first year.

Dr. Nordgren said, "We believe that New Hampshire citizens can work together to create a system that can provide our residents with improved health and excellence in health care delivery but not undermine our economic well-being. The work of our Citizens Health Initiative will focus on securing sustainable, permanent change in health promotion, financing and quality. Dr. Squires and I look forward to rolling up our sleeves and getting to work."

The task force will initially focus on three overall goals:

• Creating and sustaining a healthy population by increasing the focus on public health and prevention.
• Assuring excellence in diagnosis and treatment by making sure that treatment is based on the best approaches medicine has to offer.
• Creating a transparent and rational payment and delivery system for health care.