CHT 2nd Quarter Member Meeting
| Date: April 28, 2004 | Location: Washington, DC |
The Center for Health Transformation's second quarterly meeting was both a celebration of recent successes and a meeting for future progress. Held at the Willard InterContinental Hotel on April 28th, this gathering of private-sector health managers and public policy makers provided strong signs that, despite the difficulties of change within the political system, transformation is happening through technical innovation and collaborative thinking.
The day featured appearances by a number of key public figures, and they provided a barometer of health transformation along both national and state lines. Nancy Johnson, Connecticut Congresswoman and Chairwoman of the Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Health, stressed the importance of strong management and collective organization. Sarah Bianchi, National Policy Director of the Kerry Campaign, and Megan Hauck, Deputy Director of the Bush-Cheney Campaign, discussed their respective campaign’s proposals for future reform, showing that health care transformation is a bipartisan concern. Laura Linn, Director of the Center for Health Transformation's Georgia Project; Matthew Bassett, Chief of Staff for the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services; and Texas State Team member John Gill, M.D. all provided detailed analyses of how healthcare transformation is faring in their respective states.
Discussion centered on several key areas of change: Health Savings Accounts, Electronic Health Records and improved consumer choice. Spurred on by recent news about Bush's proposal to implement EHRs for every American, attendees had reason to believe that better outcomes at lower cost is finally becoming a top priority for the different sectors of health care.
"I was very impressed with the work done in the last 10 days," said Gold Standard Multimedia's Russ Thomas, who has attended CHT's two quarterly meetings thus far. "With policy initiatives coming out of the Presidential office and CMS, the themes that the Center has been promoting are now taking the form of public policy."
