State of Reform: Health care policy across the U.S.

This session turns the tables on health policy discussions in recent years. Instead of answering questions, former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber will be asking them of some of Oregon’s most important players in the health care and health policy worlds. Where is Oregon health care going? Why does policy making appear so difficult? What are the answers to the fiscal challenges? We ended our 2017 Oregon State of Reform Health Policy Conference with this thought provoking session with some of Oregon’s most important health care voices.

Imelda Dacones, MD: President and Chief Executive Officer, Northwest Permanente , P.C.

Jeff Heatherington: Chief Executive Officer, FamilyCare Incorporated

Janet Meyer: Cheif Executive Officer, Health Share of Oregon

Greg Van Pelt: Executive Director, Oregon Health Leadership Council

Hon. John Kitzhaber: Former Governor, State of Oregon (moderator)

Few members of Oregon’s policy and political community are as well regarded as former Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski. He is the only person to have served in all three branches of Oregon’s government, having been elected to the Supreme Court and the Legislature, in addition to the Governor’s mansion.

Governor Kulongoski joined us at our 2017 Oregon State of Reform Health Policy Conference on Oct. 11 in Portland as our Lunch Keynote. DJ Wilson interviewed the Governor on the state of politics in Oregon today, his observations of state-federal relations, and what might be on the horizon.

Knute Buehler is a declared candidate for the Republican nomination for governor in the 2018 general election. He represents Bend in the Oregon House of Representatives, and is trained as an orthopedic surgeon.

He joined us as our Morning Keynote at the 2017 Oregon State of Reform Health Policy Conference on Oct. 11 in Portland. He offered prepared remarks which was followed by a Q&A session with DJ Wilson.

Health reform may have stalled in Washington DC, but that doesn’t mean the reform conversation is complete. Whether the US moves to an ACA 2.0 model, or a system that is wholly different from the ACA, reform after the ACA will continue. This group of thought leaders outlined the options, principles, and possibilities for the healthcare system after the ACA at our 2017 Inland Northwest State of Reform Health Policy Conference in Spokane on September 13.

This panel was made up of MaryAnne Lindeblad, the Medicaid Director for the Washington Health Care Authority, Pam MacEwan, CEO of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, and Sue Lani Madsen, host of the Better Health Podcast and columnist at The Spokesman-Review.

Lori Wing-Heier is the Walker Administration’s point person for the stabilization and support of the commercial insurance market. As part of his health policy team, she also has a window into what the Administration is doing related to purchasing of health benefits, to Medicaid reform, and to changes to the administrative code. As our afternoon keynote speaker, she offered closing comments on the state of health insurance in Alaska, including Alaska's 1332 waiver, and then sat down with DJ Wilson for a Q&A session.

US Senator Dan Sullivan has played an active part, if behind the scenes, in working to make sure that any health reform legislation in the Senate protects and improves Alaska’s health care system. The junior Senator from Alaska served as our Morning Keynote speaker via Skype at our 2017 Alaska State of Reform Health Policy Conference in Anchorage on October 3rd. He updated our audience on the latest efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, and then had an informal dialog with DJ Wilson about the future of federal health policy.

This panel includes stakeholders from across the spectrum of system-level innovation in Washington State. From Medicaid to counties, health plans to the State, things are changing in healthcare but it’s not always clear that the visions are aligned to be able to achieve real transformation. This panel of some of the leading experts in the state joined our closing panel at our 2017 Inland Northwest State of Reform Health Policy Conference in Spokane on Sept. 13 to talk through the future of reform in Eastern Washington.

This panel was made up of Craig Smith, President of Amerigroup of Washington, Mike Manus, Commissioner of Pend Oreille County, and Antony Chiang, President of Empire Health Foundation in place of Alison Carl White, the Executive Director of Better Health Together.

All “Four Corners” of the legislature were represented in this lunchtime discussion about the state of our politics at our 2017 Inland Northwest State of Reform Health Policy Conference in Spokane on Sept. 13. After the longest legislative session on record, and a time of coarsening national politics, these four leaders - each deeply esteemed by their peers on both sides of the aisle - talked through the road ahead for Washington State policy and political leaders.

This legislative panel was made up of Senator Andy Billig, Senator Ann Rivers, Representative Joe Schmick, and Representative Timm Ormsby with host DJ Wilson serving as moderator.

Mike Kreidler, Washington State's Insurance Commissioner, joined us as our morning keynote speaker at our 2017 Inland Northwest State of Reform Health Policy Conference in Spokane on Sept. 13. He shared some prepared remarks, then sat down for Q&A with DJ Wilson and members of the audience. He touched on his recent testimony before the US Senate HELP Committee, the state of the ACA in Washington, and what might lie ahead for our region.

Peter Adler, President of Molina Healthcare of Washington sat down with us in Spokane at our Inland Northwest Health Policy Conference in mid-September. As President of the largest carrier on the Exchange in Washington State, Peter talks us through Molina's role in Washington, and on the national level. He is also dialed in to many innovation and reform efforts and gives us his perspective on the Medicaid Demonstration.