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

We hosted our 2017 Inland Northwest State of Reform Health Policy Conference in Spokane on Sept. 13. This panel, Policy Leadership: Republicans followed our lunch keynote, which was a four-cornered, bipartisan and bicameral discussion, provides insight into what policies and issues might resurface in the 2018 session.

We welcomed Senator Ann Rivers, chair of the Senate Health Care Committee, Representative Joe Schmick, ranking member of the House Health & Wellness Committee, Representative Paul Graves, assistant ranking member of the House Health & Wellness Committee, and Representative Paul Harris, member of the House Health & Wellness Committee.

We hosted our 2017 Inland Northwest State of Reform Health Policy Conference in Spokane on Sept. 13. This panel, Policy Leadership: Democrats is always well-attended and provides attendees the chance to ask state legislators questions about health policy.

We welcomed Senator Patty Kuderer, assistant ranking member on the Senate Health Care Committee, and Representatives Marcus Riccelli and June Robinson, both members of the House Health Care & Wellness Committee to talk through their priorities, policies, and plans for the 2018 legislature, both for health care and policy in general.

We interviewed Alaska State Representative Geran Tarr back in early August. Rep. Tarr co-chaired the House Resources Committee last legislative session, and served on the House Health & Social Services Committee. Rep. Tarr talks us through the budget deal, federal health care reform efforts, and what it means to be an Alaska Democrat.

Representative Marcus Oshiro served as a Democratic member of the Hawaii House of Representatives since 1995, stepping down last week after Governor Ige appointed him to the Hawaii Labor Relations Board as Chairperson and Representative of the Public.

Before his appointment, we sat down with then-Rep. Oshiro at the Council of State Governments Conference in August. Oshiro talked to us about the state of healthcare in Hawaii and some of the politics involved.

Pat Clarey, Chief State Health Programs & Regulatory Relations Officer, HealthNet, Don Crane, Chief Executive Offiver, CAPG and Diana Dooley, Secretary, California Health and Human Services made up our Lunch Executive Keynote Panel at our 2017 Northern California State of Reform Health Policy Conference.

What does the path ahead look like for California within the context of the changing federal policy landscape, both in Congress and the administration? Is there a unique role that California can play – in terms of leading other states but also in local implementation – where California can continue to innovate beyond (or in spite of) the federal policy discussion? This panel of experts took up the topic during our lunch program on April 27.

At our 2017 Northern California State of Reform Health Policy Conference, we heard from Jason Burke, Vice President, 3M, John Molina, Chief Financial Officer, Molina Healthcare, and Ken Thorpe, Chair, Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease at our Executive Keynote Morning Panel.

While the Congressional Republicans had pulled their health reform bill, the issue of health care continues to hang over Washington DC. As elections draw closer, and as advocates build arguments for and against policies in the public conversation, expect a renewed level of energy committed to health reform in the months ahead. This panel of national experts discussed the shape of the conversation, the “fixes” that would be appropriate to the ACA, and where they believe the national reform discussion should lead.

Note, this was recorded on April 27, 2017.

For part two of our California legislator podcast, we hear from Assemblymember Jim Patterson, member of the Assembly Health Committee, and Assemblymember Frank Bigelow, Vice Chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee. They were panelists at our 2017 Northern California State of Reform Health Policy Conference. They spoke to the changing nature of federal-state relations, discussed the challenges of health care in rural areas, and took questions from the audience.

This is the second part of a two-part episode. Check out the first half to hear from California Democrats!

Note: This was recorded on April 27, before the House passed the AHCA.

With strong majorities in the California Assembly and Senate, legislative Democrats have a range of health policy options to consider. We welcomed Senator Ed Hernandez, Chair of the Senate Health Committee, and Assemblymember Jim Wood, Chair of the Assembly Health Committee as panelists at our 2017 Northern California State of Reform Health Policy Conference to talk about those options. They discussed the challenges of legislating during a time of upheaval in policy at the federal level and answered questions from the audience.

This is the first part of a two-part episode. Check out the second half to hear from California Republicans!

Note: This was recorded on April 27, before the House passed the AHCA.

We sat down with James Capretta, the Milton Friedman Chair at the American Enterprise Institute in this podcast to talk about the American Health Care Act. He walks us through how the AHCA would work if implemented, points out some of the AHCA's shortfalls and his suggestions, and its possible political consequences for both Republicans and Democrats.

Mr. Capretta studies health care, entitlement, and US budgetary policy at the AEI. Before joining the AEI, he spent 16 years in public service, including as an associate director at the White House’s Office of Management and Budget from 2001 to 2004. Earlier, he served as a senior health policy analyst at the US Senate Budget Committee and at the US House Committee on Ways and Means.

Former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber joined us at our 2017 Northern California State of Reform Health Policy Conference as our afternoon keynote speaker. He discussed the pathways forward for states like California as they seek to continue progress of reform started by the ACA.

Drawing upon his four decades of health policy experience, including reforming Oregon Medicaid, Kitzhaber connected the dots between the opportunity presented by a changing federal policy landscape and the challenges of funding the safety net in California. Ranked second on Modern Healthcare’s 2013 list of Most Influential in Healthcare, ahead of President Obama, Kitzhaber brings a depth of state and national experience few other policy makers can match.