Friday, June 12, 2009

[EQ] Healthy States/Healthy Nation - Milbank Essays

Healthy States/Healthy Nation:
Essays for a New Administration and a New Congress

by Members of the Reforming States Group co-published by the Reforming States Group
and the Milbank Memorial Fund - May 2009

Available online PDF [64p.] at: http://www.milbank.org/reports/HealthyStates2009/HealthyStates2009.pdf

“  States have valuable experience and can contribute a unique perspective to the national health care reform dialogue. That’s because most have a constitutional obligation to provide for the welfare of their citizens. And each year, they raise and appropriate billions to fund a wide variety of local, state, and federal-state health care programs and regulatory activities.

With support from the Milbank Memorial Fund, the Reforming States Group (RSG) offers this report—which includes an introduction and a collection of essays written from the states’ perspective—as a guide to the new administration and Congress for health care reform. The introduction presents the RSG’s recommendations, and the essay collection provides a useful overview of a dozen key health policy topics, ranging from access to care to cost, insurance market reform to mental health, and workforce development to health disparities. …”

Introduction:

“……..Every day, the U.S. health care system performs miracles for those in need of advanced and sophisticated medical services. It is justifiably regarded as the world’s leading research and technology development engine. And its workforce—though facing significant shortfalls in some professions—includes men and women with an extraordinary commitment to alleviate pain and ease suffering.

Yet, it is well-known that the U.S. health care system is falling short on three key dimensions of cost, quality, and access. President Obama and the new Congress have responded by placing health care reform high on the national priority list. State leaders look forward to working with the federal government to fashion a comprehensive approach to health care reform.

This essay collection, prepared by leading state health policymakers participating in the Reforming States Group (RSG), brings a unique state perspective to the health care reform debate. The essays included in this collection do not always agree with one another, and they do not necessarily reflect the views of all members of the RSG. They all, however, represent the unique voice of states and amplify the critical role states play in our health care delivery system. ….”

 

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Access to Care
Jane Kitchel, Vice-Chair, Appropriations Committee, Vermont Senate

Controlling the Cost of Care
Elizabeth Roberts, Lieutenant Governor, State of Rhode Island

Controlling the Cost of Care
Charles Scott, Chair, Labor, Health and Social Services Committee, Wyoming Senate

Quality of Care
John Colmers, Secretary, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and Pam Maier, Chair, Health and Human Development Committee, Delaware House of Representatives

States and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
S. Peter Mills, Member, Health and Human Services Committee, Maine Senate, and John Colmers, Secretary, Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Insurance Market Reform
Sandy Praeger, Commissioner of Insurance for the State of Kansas, and Immediate Past President of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners

Long-Term Care
John Selig, Director, Arkansas Department of Human Services, and Bruce Goldberg, Director, Oregon Department of Human Services

Mental Health and Addictive Disorders
Gene Davis, Minority Whip, Utah Senate, and Sybil Richard, Deputy Secretary, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals

Public Health
Richard N. Gottfried, Chair, Health Committee, New York State Assembly, and S. Peter Mills, Member, Health and Human Services Committee, Maine Senate

Workforce Development
Leticia Van de Putte, Chair, Veteran Affairs and Military Installations Committee, Texas Senate

Children’s Health and Well-Being
Kevin Concannon, Director, Iowa Department of Human Services

Health Disparities
Leticia Van de Putte, Chair, Veteran Affairs and Military Installations Committee, Texas Senate, and Scott Nishimoto, Vice-Chair, Health Committee, Hawaii House of Representatives

Medical Liability Reform
Charles Scott, Chair, Labor, Health and Social Services Committee, Wyoming Senate

Medical Liability Reform
Kathy Stein, Chair, Judiciary Committee, Kentucky House of Representatives

About the Authors

Reforming States Group (RSG) Steering Committee

Selected Publications of the Reforming States Group

 

 

 

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