Quest CEO Discusses ACA & More with Fox, Bloomberg

Quest Diagnostics Chairman, President and CEO Steve Rusckowski was recently tapped to discuss health care issues on several leading business networks. His January 10 guest appearances on Fox Business Network and Bloomberg TV came while Rusckowski was in San Francisco for the 35th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference for a presentation about company's vision, goals and two-point strategy to accelerate growth and drive operational excellence.

Future of ACA

As the political landscape shifts, the future of the Affordable Care Act is among the most compelling conversations in healthcare, and Rusckowski was asked to weigh in on the topic.“We’re all anxious to see what happens,” Rusckowski told FBN’s Maria Bartiromo. Pointing out that portability and pre-existing coverage are among the favorable elements of the current law, he stressed that any replacement will need to address “quality, and cost, and accessibility. All three elements have to be part of the way going forward,” he said.“As a large employer, and a person who listens to his employees, we need to adjust this cost issue, and it’s a gnarly issue,” Rusckowski further elaborated to Bloomberg’s Cory Johnson and Carol Massar. “To get to the bottom of what you really do about health care costs you have to look at the root cause of it. And when you get into health care costs, what you find is that a small fraction of the population represents a large percentage of health care costs. The number that we often use is 5% of the population represents about 50% of health care costs. In my mind, that’s what you need to get to, how do you deal with that expensive portion of the population.”

Strategy for Growth

When Bartiromo asked Rusckowski if Quest is planning any acquisitions in 2017, Rusckowski acknowledged that “part of our growth strategy is to look at one- to two percent of revenue growth through acquisition,” he said. “We find those organizations that would benefit from our scale, and bring them into Quest Diagnostics.”

Diagnostics as Part of Health Care

While discussing Quest’s position in the health care system, Rusckowski put the role of diagnostics into perspective for Bloomberg, saying, “A fun fact of this business is that we’re about 2% of health care costs, but we represent around 70% of health care decision making. So if you’re looking at quality and cost of health care going forward, it’s important that you have a full diagnostic view of a patient before you decide on what happens next.”

JP Morgan Presentation

Rusckowski’s presentation at the 35th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference will be webcast live during the conference and will be available to registered investors on the following site: http://jpmorgan.metameetings.com/confbook/healthcare17/directlink.php?p=22814 and to the public on the company's investor relations page which can be accessed at www.QuestDiagnostics.com. Additionally, an archived webcast will be available within 24 hours after the conclusion of the live event and will remain available until February 12, 2017.Watch Quest Chairman, President and CEO Steve Rusckowski discuss the future of the Affordable Care Act and more with Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business Network.Watch Quest Chairman, President and CEO Steve Rusckowski discuss the future of the Affordable Care Act with Cory Johnson and Carol Massar on Bloomberg TV.