HC4HR

(We are updating this with a few comments made at the summit, and a little more explanation of how the Senate Democratic bill's approach to "across state lines" would work.)

We expected a few issues to be stressed at today's health reform summit -- among them, buying insurance across state lines and malpractice reform. We were right. We've been tweeting all morning, but here are a few thoughts and a guide to some work we've done in the past on these topics.

Across State Lines. Republicans are still pushing the idea of letting people buy insurance across state lines -- an idea we've pointed out doesn't work, at least not how they have historically constructed it. Here’s our report (and also the executive summary) published back in 2008. Our study indicates that allowing insurers to sell across state lines, in the way the Republicans have and continue to propose, would make it harder and more expensivefor many Americans to access quality health coverage. It may benefit some of the young and healthy, but it would have a devastating impact on the insurance market for everyone else (and none of us will be young and healthy forever). It would gut many of the patient protections and state rules now in place, and as President Obama put it, risk creating a '"race to the bottom."

However, the Senate bill does allow states to pool enrollees and form insurance "compacts" (check out the Kaiser side-by-side for more details) permitting the sale of insurance across state lines -- but with oversight, regulations and a mandate. As Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus commented at the Blair House earlier today, "We do allow for that [across state lines]. But not exactly the way some would." Once the exchanges are up, Baucus added, people could buy insurance across state lines and benefit from competition. But there would be rules -- that strengthen patient protections. When the Senate Finance committee first developed its "states' compact" approach, Len Nichols wrote on our blog that it would ensure that insurance market rules would be uniform across state lines, "ensuring that every insurance package provides access to necessary services and protects consumers' health and financial needs."

Yesterday a group of 11 freshmen Democratic senators released a package of amendments designed to strengthen payment reforms in Medicare and Medicaid, expand the scope of reforms to include the public and private sector, and reduce the legal and administrative barriers to high quality care.

You can watch highlights from the press conference in the video on the right (Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) claims the amendments are to the legislation what the iPhone is to cellphones), and read a section-by-section summary of the proposals here.

Health CEOs for Health reform announced its support for the amendments, as has a long list of stakeholders including AARP, AFL-CIO, National Partnership for Women and Families, Small Business Majority, and the experts at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. See the full list from Sen Warner’s website after the break:

Earlier today, a group of 11 freshman Democratic senators released a package of amendments designed to strengthen the Senate health reform legislation’s payment and delivery system reforms helping to bend the cost curve and deliver high quality, high value, health care.

In a letter to those senators (full text after the break, pdf to the right), Health CEOs for Health Reform -- a diverse coalition of health industry leaders committed to achieving a more sustainable health system -- expressed it's support for the propsed changes.

Fixing our broken health care system is a complex task. With this complexity comes both healthy debate and damaging misrepresentations. Few misconceptions are more seriously wrong than the judgment that current health reform legislation does not do nearly enough to control health care costs. Despite what opponents say, the health care reform legislation before Congress succeeds in two important tasks:

As our nation debates health care, we ask ourselves the big questions. How can we get sustainable, affordable, quality coverage for every American? What is possible in health reform, and how can we turn the possible into the actionable? Here at the New America Foundation, we are proud to affiliate ourselves with health care leaders who have answers. The Health CEOs for Health Reform, a diverse coalition of health industry leaders, provide outstanding examples of cooperation, innovation, and high quality health care delivery at low costs.

Here on our Health Policy Program blog, the New Health Dialogue, we've created a video series highlighting presentations of the CEOs and their accomplishments. Each video features a personal interview with or presentation from one of the CEOs or their representatives. Each explains how they have pressed ahead with reforms and improvements in the real world. In case you missed it, here's the round up:

This week, Kaiser Health News shined the spotlight on two high-performing health systems. KHN talked to Ascension Health President and CEO Anthony R. Tersigni, EdD, FACHE, and Denver Health CEO Patricia A.

Recently we had the chance to sit down and talk with Donna Katen-Bahensky, the president and CEO of University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics and a member of Health CEOs for Health Reform.

In the video below, Katen-Bahensky describes her organization's efforts to change the dynamics of modern medicine through the principles of accountable care organizations (ACO).

We've been running a series of posts on the Health CEOs for Health Reform, highlighting innovative models of integrated care, health IT, comparative effectiveness, and clinical excellence.

Today, we examine a collaboration being developed between payers, providers, and health plans in California to share in the savings of higher quality, lower cost care. Tomorrow, we'll wrap-up the series by looking at how these real-world experiences can be translated into practical policies for health reform.

In the video below, Wade Rose of Catholic Healthcare West and Mike Johnson of Blue Shield of California describe a pilot project being developed with the Hill Physicians Group and the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERs).

Today we'll share more of the innovative work being done by the Health CEOs for Health Reform by taking a look at Ascension Health’s Clinical Excellence initiative.

In 2003, Ascension Health, the nation’s largest nonprofit health care system, introduced a system-wide “Call To Action” to provide excellent clinical care. Committing to a transformational goal to provide “Healthcare that works, healthcare that is safe, and healthcare that leaves no one behind,” Ascension set out to eliminate all preventable injuries or deaths within five years -- by July 2008.

As Ascension Health President and CEO Anthony Tersigni describes in the video below, the results were nothing short of remarkable, far surpassing initial expectations.

When she spoke to us at the Health CEOs for Health Reform event recently, Merck's Senior Director of Public Policy, Jane Horvath, presented her response to two very important questions. Why does Merck, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, believe that delivery system reforms are possible? And what has Merck done that demonstrates that change is possible?

To learn about Merck's pilot plan to promote value and quality in health care, check out the video below, or keep reading.