Paul Revere

Selected Health Session Presentations from the 2007 NCSL Annual Meeting

NCSL 2007 Annual Meeting

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Mental Health Treatment: Balancing Help for the Individual and the Community

Are the current mechanisms of screening and entry into mental health treatment adequate to meet society's needs and protect the individual? This session will examine best practices and aid state legislators in crafting legislation to revise their state systems.

Speakers: (77.00MB 67:00)

A. Kathryn Power, Substances Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Maryland
Dale Masi, PhD, President/CEO, Masi Research Consultants, Inc., Massachusetts -- Presentation (16 page PDF document)

Joanna Locke, MD, The Jed Foundation, New York -- Presentation (24 page PDF document)

Federal Update and Health Policy Consideration

An update on key pieces of health legislation pending before the Congress; review recent proposed and final regulations; and review key health-related cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. The committee will consider the following expiring policies: Federal Tobacco Policy; General Guiding Principles: State-Federal Relations in Health and Human Services Programs; Medicaid Rulemaking; Mental Health; Ryan White Reauthorization; and Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization. Other policies may be considered at the request of members.

Speaker:

Joy Johnson-Wilson, NCSL -- Presentation ( 21 page PDF document)

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Health Care Reform Challenge: Expand Access, Control Costs and Deliver High Quality, Comprehensive Coverage?

Controlling health care costs and ensuring affordable premiums and cost-sharing are key components of a successful plan to expand access. Review key strategies to keep costs down and look at how insurance companies price their products.

Speakers:

Meredith Delk, AMERIGROUP Community Care, Texas -- Presentation (17 page PDF document)
Michael Chernew, Professor, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts -- Presentation (20 page PDF document)
Jon Kingsdale, Executive Director, Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, Massachusetts -- Presentation (14 page PDF document)
Cori Uccello, American Academy of Actuaries, Washington, D.C. -- Presentation (12 page PDF document)

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

The State of Children's Health

2007 is the State Children's Health Insurance Program's (SCHIP) 10th anniversary and state policymakers await the outcome of the congressional reauthorization debate. In recent months, state legislators and governors across the country are taking the challenge to close the final gaps. What has expanded access to health care meant for the nation’s children? Can we close the final gaps? What will happen if we don't?

Speakers:

Joy Johnson Wilson, NCSL State-Federal Relations Division -- Presentation (61 page PDF document)
Robin Rudowitz, Kaiser Commission for Medicaid and the Uninsured, Washington, D.C. -- Presentation (20 page PDF document)