The Commission kicked off 2009 in high gear, hosting its 11th annual Bipartisan Congressional Health Policy Conference, a retreat where members of Congress can learn about and discuss pertinent issues in health policy. Given the new presidential administration and Congress, a great sense of optimism pervaded the event. The retreat—attended by both Democratic and Republican members—featured presentations by key leaders in a broad range of topics: high performance health systems, the components of health reform, the individual insurance market, payment reform, quality and efficiency, achieving health reform in Congress, and strategies for working with the new administration. As in previous years, members and speakers engaged in honest and productive dialogue in the spirit of bipartisan collaboration.
In coordination with the Alliance for Health Reform and Catholic Health Association, the Commission hosted a similar event for senior Congressional staff at the end of February. Fifty-five high-level staffers from Congress and Congressional agencies attended the retreat to learn from expert speakers; engage in open, off-the-record debate; and discover potential areas for bipartisan collaboration. The event covered such topics such as insurance connectors, public plan options, potential changes in tax treatment, bending the cost curve, and Medicare payment reform.
Also in February, the Commission released The Path to a High Performance U.S. Health System: A 2020 Vision and the Policies to Pave the Way. The report details the Commission’s recommendations for an integrated set of policy actions to expand health insurance to all; change the way we pay, invest in, and organize care to achieve better outcomes; and substantially slow the growth in projected national health spending. The report also estimates the impact of this strategy, indicating that, if we start now, it would be possible to reduce projected spending by a cumulative $3 trillion by 2020, as well as guarantee achieve universal coverage and improve outcomes. The report was publicly unveiled at an event featuring presentations from Karen Davis, Cathy Schoen, Commission chair Jim Mongan, and Commission member Dallas Salisbury. It drew more than 300 reporters, researchers, Congressional and agency staffers, advocates, and providers.
The Commission also released a report that analyzes and compares leading bills of the 110th Congress aimed at expanding and improving health insurance coverage. And a new Commission data brief reveals results from a survey of a diverse group of experts about priorities for the new administration, finding that President Obama enjoys a strong mandate for major elements of the health care reform proposal he unveiled during the 2008 presidential campaign.
On March 20, the Commission will sponsor an Alliance for Health Reform briefing on Capitol Hill featuring experts’ perspectives on payment reform.
For more information, please visit our the Commission page on the Web site.