NHPC: AcademyHealth National Health Policy Conference

Medicaid programs have been working to address to opioid epidemic in a number of ways and is starting to get involved in addressing social determinants of health, explained Anne L. Schwartz, PhD, executive director of the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission.

There needs to be a national dialogue on how can we reach a point where our dollars are used wisely, patients get what they need, and we all get the innovation that we want, said Robert Dubois, MD, PhD, chief science officer and executive vice president, National Pharmaceutical Council.

Anne L. Schwartz, PhD, executive director of the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, discusses the role of MACPAC in sharing data with policy makers.

Sara Rosenbaum, JD, the Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor of Health Law and Policy and founding chair of the Department of Health Policy at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, mentions her concerns about what states may include in their waivers in Medicaid programs.

We live in a society in the United States where more is better, so why would we think that when we go to the doctor that our attitude would be different, said Dr Robert Dubois, MD, PhD, chief science officer and executive vice president, National Pharmaceutical Council.

As we think about the healthcare spending situation that we’re in now, it’s kind of like Groundhog Day the movie where Bill Murray woke up each morning and relived the same day until he made changes in his life and was able to move forward, said Robert Dubois, MD, PhD, chief science officer and executive vice president, National Pharmaceutical Council.

Anne L. Schwartz, PhD, executive director of the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, explains the core messages of new data on average spending for new Medicaid enrollees.

Although Gail Wilensky PhD, senior fellow at Project HOPE, is doubtful that imposing work requirements in Medicaid will have much effect, either positive or negative on enrollment, but she thinks it will help bring to the table states that were not otherwise willing to expand Medicaid.

Shortly after Kentucky announced its new work requirements for the Medicaid program, a lawsuit was brought by residents against the government. Sara Rosenbaum, JD, the Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor of Health Law and Policy and founding chair of the Department of Health Policy at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, explains what other states looking to implement work requirements might face.

The destination is to get to a point where we can spend our healthcare resources more wisely so that patients get the care they need and we all get the type of innovation that we really want, said Robert Dubois, MD, PhD, chief science officer and executive vice president, National Pharmaceutical Council.

Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, made a surprise visit to AcademyHealth’s National Health Policy Conference Tuesday morning and took to the podium to declare that he wants to be the first surgeon general to issue a report showing the links between health and a healthy economy.

As the federal government faces another potential shutdown at the end of the week, a panel of former Congressional staffers shared their perspectives at AcademyHealth’s National Health Policy Conference about lessons learned on Capitol Hill.

We have been living in a groundhog world for the past several decades when it comes to healthcare spending, said Robert Dubois of the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) during AcademyHealth’s National Health Policy Conference, in Washington, DC. The session called When Are We Going to Get Serious About Health Care Spending in the United States? came a few days after the NPC launched an effort to have a dialogue around this issue by issuing a call for research around the topic and partnering with Health Affairs on a campaign called Going Below the Surface.

Are Medicaid waivers meant to encourage able-bodied adults to work, or a return to poor laws of old? Or are they a means to get states that have not expanded Medicaid to expand? A diversity of viewpoints on these and other topics were on full display during Health Reform X.O: What Now, What Next?, the first session of AcademyHealth’s National Health Policy Conference.