In the winter of 2010, the Winston Health Policy Fellowship Board of Trustees decided that the Winston Scholarship, a $5,000 scholarship awarded annually to ten promising students with a strong interest in health policy, should be enhanced by the addition of an opportunity to visit Washington and learn first-hand about health policy from the experts. The result of this decision was the development of the Winston Health Policy Symposium, the first of which took place last month.
Nine students from AUPHA member programs were flown to Washington for a two day event that was intended to strengthen the students’ interest in health policy and educate them as well about the opportunities presented by the Winston Fellowship. The event was kicked off with a dinner hosted by the Fellowship where the students had the opportunity to meet with the current and past Winston Fellows and learn more about what the Fellowship experience might entail. The students had ample opportunity to ask questions of the fellows in a relaxed environment.
The actual Symposium took place the following morning, October 6th. The event was held at the offices of the Federation of American Hospitals. In attendance were the nine students, as well as all members of the Winston Health Policy Board of Trustees and many former fellows. The morning’s agenda was broken into four primary topic areas designed to cover all aspects of Health Reform.
Julie Rovner of National Pubic Radio and Jim Capretta of the Ethics and Public Policy Center kicked off the event with remarks and a panel discussion on the topic, “Health Reform: An Overview of the Issues.” Rovner shared her perspective as a journalist of the primary issues that were debated prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act as well as the realities of how it might be implemented. Capretta provided a differing yet equally interesting perspective on the same topic, highlighting the many challenges that lay ahead, particularly in light of the then-pending election.
Bill Hoagland of Cigna and Wendell Primus from Nancy Pelosi’s office then addressed the topic, “The Legislative Process: How Did Health Reform Become Law?” While Hoagland provided the perspective of the outsider observing the tremendously complicated process that was involved in getting a bill passed in light of the shifting realities in the House and Senate at the time, Primus provided a first-hand account of the action on the Floor of the House and some of the negotiations that took place to get to the point of finally passing the Bill.
Beth Fuchs of Health Policy Alternatives and Mark Pauly of the University of Pennsylvania then tacked the topic, “Implications: How Will Health Reform Impact the Insurance Market?” Fuchs gave a quick but thorough overview of the aspects of the Bill that affect insurance and how that will be operationalized over time. Mark Pauly provided a broader perspective of the role insurance plays in increasing access to care and improving quality of care.
The morning concluded with remarks from Jonathan Blum from CMS and Jeanne Lambrew in the Office of Health Reform at HHS who addressed, “The Executive Branch: How Will Health Reform Become Reality? This provided a rather sobering look at the incredibly complex process of implementing and operationalizing the law and the huge numbers of stakeholders involved in the process.
Over lunch the students were treated to a rare opportunity in such a setting when Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies presented on the topic, “Health Care and Key 2010 Election Trends.” McInturff addressed the effects of the passage of the Affordable Care Act on public opinion and why it is that the passage of the bill didn’t change public opinion significantly. He spoke to the issue of Obama’s approval rating and the effect that “Obamacare” has had on that, as well as the effect that his approval rating would have on the then-pending mid-term elections. The remarks provided a remarkable expert look at where the country currently stands on the issues of health reform and where we might be going.
The remainder of the day was spent talking about health policy as a career path. The students had an opportunity to sit and chat with all of the Winston Board members to learn more about the Board member’s specific experiences and to discuss their own interests. The students were diverse in terms of their backgrounds and aspirations, so this was an ideal way for them to learn more about health policy and the Fellowship to learn more about them.
It is the Fellowship’s hope that the opportunity presented by the symposium will encourage more students to apply for the scholarship. It was remarkable that of the twenty applicants for the Fellowship this year, only two were scholarship winners (or applicants). We will be exploring why the Fellowship applicants did not apply for the scholarship as well as why more scholars didn’t apply for the Fellowship.
For more information on the Scholarship or Fellowship, please contact Lydia Middleton.
Photos from the 2010 Winston Health Policy Symposium are available HERE.