State Coverage Initiatives: Will Moving Toward Universal Coverage Make the System Work Better for Everyone?

There is mounting evidence that the U.S. system is often financially inefficient and delivers poor quality. There is also research suggesting that having so many people without insurance can adversely affect the quality of care for everyone, even those with insurance. A new report by The Commonwealth Fund sets forth principles for providing universal coverage in ways that could promote a high performance health care system. Several states are already trying to reform their health care systems.

How is implementation of universal coverage progressing in Massachusetts? How are negotiations moving forward in California and Pennsylvania to pass health care reform legislation? What is the connection, if any, between state reform initiatives, which center on coverage expansions, and improving the performance of the health care system? What is the role of the federal government in health care reform?

To discuss these and related questions, The Commonwealth Fund and the Alliance for Health Reform sponsored an October 26 briefing, which also provided a progress report on initiatives in California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Panelists were: Sara Collins, The Commonwealth Fund; Ann Torregrossa, Pennsylvania Governor’s Office; Leif Wellington Haase, New America Foundation’s California program; Sarah Iselin, Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy; and Tom Miller, American Enterprise Institute. Ed Howard of the Alliance moderated.

Transcript

Full Transcript (Adobe Acrobat PDF)

Speaker Presentations

Collins (PowerPoint)
Haase (PowerPoint)
Iselin (PowerPoint)
Miller  (PowerPoint)
Torregrossa  (PowerPoint)

Event Details

Speaker Biographies (Adobe Acrobat PDF)