Health Sessions from NCSL's National Health Conference
Savannah, Georgia
December 8-10, 2004
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The Medicare Modernization Act: Implications for the States
Overview of the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA)
This session reviewed the major areas where the MMA will impact states and include a discussion of the treatment Medicaid/Medicare dual eligibles and the states' responsibilities regarding the implementation of the new Medicare drug benefit program.
Speaker: Donna A. Boswell, Partner, Health Group, Hogan & Hartson, L.L.P., Washington, D.C. [SLIDE SHOW]
State Employee Retiree Health Benefits Under MMA: Options, Opportunities and Perils
The MMA includes incentives for employers, including state and local governments, to maintain their existing retiree health benefits programs. This creates new options, opportunities and perils for state governments. This session will review the options, the opportunities and yes, the perils of this new program.
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Speaker: Derek Guyton, Mercer Human Resources Consulting, Chicago, Illinois [SLIDE SHOW] - PDF
Innovations in State Health Reform
Necessity continues to be the mother of invention as states work to make health care affordable for their citizens. This session included an overview of state reform activities during these difficult economic times and highlight three state examples.
Speakers:
Sharon Silow-Carrol [slide show]
Senior Vice-President
Economic and Social Research Institute
Washington, D.C.
Karl Ideman [slide show]
President
Pool Administrators, Inc.
Wethersfield, Connecticut
Theresa Wyatt [slide show]
Deputy Administrator
Medical Programs
Illinois Department of Public Aid
Springfield, Illinois
Adam Thompson [slide show]
Legislative Liaison
Governor's Office of Health Policy and Finance
Augusta, Maine
New Lessons in Long-Term Care
In 2003, long-term care accounted for a third of Medicaid expenditures, and demographic pressures will increase its importance in the future. States continue to seek strategies to meet consumers' needs and preferences, ensure services are safe and high quality, and control costs. This session will discuss three "hot topics" in long-term care--insurance, managed long-term care, and consumer direction--and offer state options for revamping this critical area of health care delivery.
Speakers:
Susan Reinhard [slide show]
Co-Director
Center for State Health Policy
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, New Jersey
John O'Leary [slide show]
Principal
Long-Term Care Strategies
North Andover, Massachusetts
Marc Gold [slide show]
Director
Medicaid Long-Term Care Policy
Texas Health and Human Services Commission
Austin, Texas
Rural Health and Economic Development
Rural Americans are disproportionately poor, underinsured, uninsured, and are at higher risk for chronic disease, unintended injury and communicable disease than their urban counterparts. In recent years, several states have been working collaboratively to address these concerns. This session will highlight successful approaches that have strengthened rural economies and improved access to health care such as revolving loan funds, practice management services, recruitment and retention strategies, rural health leader's pipeline programs and rural health networks.
Speakers:
Senator Evan Jenkins [slide show]
West Virginia
Marsha Broussard [slide show]
Director
Louisiana Rural Health Access Program
New Orleans, Louisiana
Elaine Wootten [slide show]
Deputy Director
Arkansas Southern Rural Access Program
University of Arkansas
School of Public Health
Little Rock, Arkansas
Redesigning Medicaid: New Attempts at Reform
Managing Medicaid costs while maintaining access to coverage continues to challenge state policymakers. A few states are proposing substantial "Medicaid redesign" projects. This session will address the goals of Medicaid redesign in the states, options under consideration, the role of legislators and other stakeholders, and implications for states. Hear a national speaker frame the issue and two state officials discuss their redesign efforts.
Speakers:
Mari Spaulding-Bynon [slide show]
State Coverage Initiative
Project Coordinator
Medical Assistance Division
Human Services Department
New Mexico
Barbara Coulter Edwards [slide show]
Deputy Director
Ohio Health Plans
Department of Jobs and Family
Columbus, Ohio
Charles Milligan [slide show]
Executive Director
Center for Health Programs
Management and Development
University of Maryland
Baltimore City, Maryland
Methamphetamine: The Science of the Addiction
Stories on the production of methamphetamine, meth lab clean-up and foster care issues, penalties for meth possession and sale, and other meth issues fill the headlines. At the root of all this media attention is a highly addictive, brain altering drug. Come learn from the nation's leading methamphetamine addiction researchers about the science of methamphetamine addiction, how to effectively treat this addiction, and how successful treatment allows the brain to recover from serious impairments.
Speakers:
Darryl S. Inaba [slides not available]
Chief Executive Officer,
Haight Ashbury Free Clinics,
San Francisco, California
Timothy P. Condon [slides not available]
Deputy Director
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Bethesda, Maryland
Current Issues in the Provision of Excellent End-of-Life Care
Effective pain relief is legally available everywhere, but far too few patients with terminal illnesses receive it and therefore suffer needlessly near the end of life. Many health professionals are unwilling to use available resources because they fear they will be prosecuted or disciplined. A growing strain between regulating legitimate prescribing practices and preventing drug abuse and drug trafficking further complicates the issue. Among the important issues to be addressed at this session are factors affecting the effectiveness of adequacy of pain management and elements of effective state legislation promoting appropriate pain management.
Speakers:
Kathryn Tucker [slide show]
Director
Legal Affairs
Compassion in Dying
Seattle, Washington
David Joranson [slides not available]
Senior Scientist, Director
W.H.O Collaborating Center for Policy
University of Wisconsin
Comprehensive Cancer Center
Madison, Wisconsin
William Sorrell [slides not available]
Attorney General
Montpelier, Vermont
Do Healthy Lifestyles Mean Healthier State Budgets?
Chronic conditions are the leading cause of death and disability in the United States. The impact of chronic diseases on state Medicaid and Medicare budgets will grow as our population ages. What are states doing to prevent or delay the onset of chronic diseases among their citizens. This session will present state approaches to prevention and cost management when treatment is needed.
Speaker:
Representative Pam Maier [slide show]
Delaware
Dennis Joyner [slide show]
Director
Carolina's Community Health Institute
Charlotte, North Carolina
George Mensah [slide show]
Acting Director
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Georgia
Finding Solutions in the Private Health Insurance Market
Five years of double-digit inflation in health premiums have alarmed employers and state policymakers alike. Innovative employers, private and public, are using strategies that combine cost containment with appropriate health care coverage. Hear three national experts share their experiences and alternatives for further policymaking such as consumer-directed plans, cost-sharing, bulk buying, tax incentives and more.
Speakers:
William S. Custer [slide show]
Associate Professor
Risk Management and Insurance
Robison College of Business
Georgia State University
Atlanta, Georgia
Roy Ramthun [slide show]
Senior Advisor for Health Initiatives
U.S. Treasury Department
Washington, D.C.
George L. Atkins [slide show]
Strategic Counsel
America's Health Insurance Plans
Washington, D.C.
Shaking the Piggy Bank: An Update on Financing Children's Health
The 8-year-old State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) provides access to health care for nearly 6 million low-income children. Many states once again faced budget shortfalls as the $1.1 billion in unspent federal SCHIP funding approached the deadline requiring such funds to revert to the Federal Treasury at the end of the fiscal year. This session will feature experts in Medicaid and SCHIP financing who will discuss the current state of SCHIP funding, federal legislation introduced to save these funds for the states, and state experiences with SCHIP financing issues.
Speakers:
Senator Jeannemarie Devolites Davis [no slides available]
Virginia
Dennis Smith [no slides available]
Director
Center for Medicaid and State Operations
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Baltimore, Maryland
Victoria Wachino [slide show]
Health Policy Director
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Washington, D.C.
A Walk and a Talk: Can State Policies Create a Physically Active Community?
After sitting in meetings, this session will get you moving. Join us for a presentation about how the built environment can integrate physical activity into daily life and how states are translating research into policy. Then, take a break to change into clothing appropriate for physical activity and, weather permitting, join NCSL staff for a walk or enjoy a yoga class.
Speaker:
Mark Fenton [slide show]
Host
PBS television series "America’s Walking" and Consultant
Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center
University of North Carolina
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