Women In Government Actions
Since the organization's founding in 1988, Women In Government has strived to help state legislators understand complex healthcare issues effecting their states, including reforms to Medicare and Medicaid, challenges to healthcare system caused by an aging population, prescription drug access, and the unintended consequences of restrictions on healthcare.
Recent Events
January 2012
Women In Government’s 18th Annual State Directors’ Conference featured Mark Fendrick, MD, Professor of Internal Medicine in the School of Medicine and Professor of Health Management and Policy in the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan. Dr. Fendrick currently co-directs the Center for Value Based Insurance Design at the University of Michigan, which is the leading advocate for development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative health benefit plans. Dr. Fendrick's research focuses on the clinical and economic assessment of medical interventions with special attention to how technological innovation influences clinical practice, benefit design, and healthcare systems. His presentation provided an overview of value-based insurance design, research regarding improved patient outcomes, and value-based insurance as a way of improving healthcare delivery and patient outcomes while also reducing costs. To learn more about this topic, please view the following materials:
Mary Kay Owens also spoke at Women In Government’s 18th Annual State Directors’ Conference, where she presented on care coordination. Ms. Owens is Executive Director of the Institute for Healthcare Innovation Strategies and president of Southeastern Consultants, Inc. She has over 20 years’ experience in providing services to government agencies, public and commercial health plans, academic institutions, health information technology groups, care management companies, industry, and professional healthcare associations in areas such care coordination assessment, HIT, Medicaid/Medicare program operations, policy and reimbursement, appropriate medication use, utilization management, auditing methods, and fraud detection. She gave legislators information on patient adherence and medication management, patient centered medical homes, and other innovative models of patient care. State legislators gained a greater understanding of the public policy implications and ideas for actions they could take on this issue. To learn more, please view her presentation here.
November 2011
At Women In Government’s Second Annual Healthcare Summit Dr. Greg Pawlson discussed his work as the Executive Director of Quality Innovation at the Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Association. He draws upon his experience as a clinical health services researcher and expert on healthcare quality to promote key safety and quality initiatives developed by the BCBS companies that can be replicated to help transform the healthcare system. Legislators learned about the “Pathway to Quality, Affordable Healthcare” and how it features many initiatives for wellness and disease prevention. To learn more, please view his presentation here.
October 2011
Women In Government featured a presentation on medical innovations to improve healthcare delivery & access at the Healthcare Reform Task Force. Dr. Samuel Nussbaum, the Executive Vice President of Clinical Health Policy, & Chief Medical Officer at WellPoint, Inc. spoke about a major surge of healthcare innovations that will enhance life expectancy, quality of life, diagnostic and treatment options, as well as the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the healthcare system. This session discussed these innovations and how legislators can promote these improvements in their states. To view Dr. Nussbaum's presentation, please click here.
August 2011
Women In Government featured Healthcare at the Outreach to Vulnerable Populations:Children and Families conference. This presentation discussed the impact of federal healthcare reform on children and families, with a particular focus on the specific impacts on coverage for programs such as Medicaid and CHIP. Jessica Stephens, a Policy Analyst with the Kaiser Commission for Medicaid and the Uninsured, an initiative of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, spoke about her work. The Commission provides information and analysis on healthcare coverage and access for the low-income population. Ms. Stephens works primarily on issues related to health coverage for low-income children and families and the uninsured. She also works on the Commission’s annual 50-state survey on eligibility and enrollment practices in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). To learn more, please click on here to view her presentation.
July 2011
At Women In Government's Oncology Task Force in Minneapolis, Minnesota Holistic Approaches to Patient Care & Treatment was a featured topic. This session featured holistic approaches to patient care, including physical therapy, treatment for depression or other related mental health issues, pain management, palliative care, and other needs, to address overall patient health and welfare from diagnosis to survivorship. Beth Virnig, PhD, MPH, the Co-Leader, Cancer Outcomes & Survivorship Research Program at the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center presented on her work, and her presentation is available here. Toni Kay Mangskau from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and ACT Lead for Minnesota’s First Congressional District & Patient Advocate also spoke about her work and experience, and her presentation is available here.
Kevin Hayden the President of State Sponsored Business at Wellpoint, Inc. spoke about addressing dual eligibles in state managed care programs at Women In Government's 18th Annual Midwestern Regional Conference. He addressed the recent expansion of and reform to Medicaid and healthcare programs, coupled with the changes in federal funding, and how state legislators can handle eligibility issues in their states. His presentation is available here.
January 2011
At Women In Government's 17th Annual State Director's Conference & Ninth Biennial First-Term Legislators Conference, Healthcare was considered a high priority issue for legislators.
In a session entitled, Health Insurance Exchanges & Healthcare Reform, legislators heard about the major challenges to successful implementation of the exchanges, and present policy options. Mr. John Feilding, an Attorney-at-law for Steptoe & Johnson, LLP gave his reccomendations for state officials, and provided an update on the status of the regulatory process and state implementation. For more information, see his presentation here!
In another session, entitled Healthcare Reform & Its Impact on Mental Health Services, Steven McCaffrey, JD, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mental Health America of Indiana spoke. he talked about how many states have already passed legislation ensuring parity in access to mental health services, and provided an overview of the potential effects of mental healthcare reform on existing rules regarding patient access to mental health treatment and insurance coverage for services. His presentation is available here.
Past Conference Materials
Additional Resources
National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation:The NIHCM Foundation is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization that conducts research, policy analysis and educational activities on a range of health care issues.
Health Disparities
Women's Health
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