University of Miami Hosts Major Conference on the Business of Health Care
With the nation moving closer to full implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Center for Health Sector Management and Policy at the University of Miami School of Business Administration brought together national health care policy and industry leaders for a conference on “The Business of Health Care Post-Election.” More than 700 business and health care executives, physicians, nurses and other providers, as well as undergraduate and graduate students attended the February conference, which featured Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as its keynote speaker.
“We received an overwhelming response from the health care and business communities,” said Steven Ullmann, director of the Center for Health Sector Management and Policy. “The timing was right to examine the policy and business issues that will be shaping health care in the next few years.”
In his address, Daschle noted that U.S. Supreme Court decisions upholding ACA and the re-election of President Obama in November helped settle the question of the government’s role in the nation’s private-public health care system.
“While this is a time of tectonic change and uncertainty, the basic character of the American health sector will remain largely intact,” he predicted. “Despite the partisan debate, I think we do have a consensus on the basics. No one would disagree that there is a cost problem, and there is no debate about access to health care or the need for quality care.”
Daschle, who is a senior policy advisor at DLA Piper and co-leader of the Bipartisan Policy Center Health Project, also called on Congress to focus on the goals of the ACA — better patient outcomes and lower overall costs — rather than be sidetracked by partisan bickering.
“Policymakers in Washington could decide to cut the federal budget and shift health care costs to the states and other stakeholders,” he said. “Instead of shifting costs, we need to redesign the system to improve the quality of care and bring down costs for the entire market.”
In addition to Daschle, the conference featured Mark McClellan, former administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and former senior director for health care policy under President George W. Bush; Chris Jennings, former senior health care advisor to President Bill Clinton; Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans; and Richard L. Clarke, former president and CEO of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, among other industry thought leaders.
White papers, video and other information from the conference can be found at www.bus.miami.edu/healthcare2013.
Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle was the keynote speaker at “The Business of Health Care Post-Election."