Strickland, senators join health care leaders at HOPES conference

Posted 1/31/2007

COLUMBUS, OHIO - Governor Ted Strickland and former U.S. Senator John Breaux (D-La.), a national leader in health policy, joined 100 top health care leaders and policy makers on Tuesday at The Ohio State University to discuss the future of health care in Ohio. Former U.S. Senator John Glenn also attended and introduced Breaux.

The Post-Election Invitational Conference: Charting the Future of Health Care in Ohio was held January 23 at the Blackwell Hotel at The Ohio State University and was sponsored by the Center for Health Outcomes, Policy, and Evaluation Studies (HOPES) in the School of Public Health.

Both Strickland and Breaux described their ideas about the current health care issues facing the nation and Ohio. Strickland addressed many of the health care needs facing Ohioans, including the thousands of uninsured children, a shortage of nurses statewide and little or no health coverage for many working Ohioans.

"I want Ohio to be a state engaged in innovative ideas," Strickland told the audience, which included health system administrators as well as leaders from business, government, advocacy groups and health insurers. “Our administration is trying to identify best practices around the country."

Center for HOPES Director, Allard E. Dembe, Sc.D., indicated that the timing of this conference coincided with increased activity at both the federal and state levels within the past week to propose significant system reforms, such as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's recent call for universal coverage in California

Anne Gauthier, senior policy director for The Commonwealth Fund's Commission on a High Performance Health System, was lunch speaker and spoke to the group about how Ohio compared to other states in several key health care benchmarks, such as infant mortality rates and percentage of residents without health insurance.

Key Issues Discussed by Conference Participants:

During breakout sessions at the Post Election Invitational Conference, the conference attendees discussed key issues that should be considered by Gov. Strickland's administration and the Ohio Legislature. These issues included:

Improving Services

1. Promoting improved wellness and preventive services as an important component of health care reform; thus moving away from an "illness" model of health to a more comprehensive framework. 2. Encouraging a team approach to health care in which the involvement of various providers is better coordinated.
3. Broadening the sites in which health services are delivered to include schools, workplaces, religious institutions, and other locales within the community.
4. Expanding state requirements for public reporting of cost, volume, and quality-of-care indicators.
5. Including information about health care, health services, health insurance, prevention, and wellness in school curricula.
6. Developing and disseminating quality-of-care measures in a way that is understandable to the average consumer.

Expanding Coverage

1. Expanding coverage for the uninsured and underinsured in a way that will enhance, rather than jeopardize, the state's economic development.
2. Providing an increased array of plans for public sector employees, including health savings accounts and high-deductible plans.
3. Strengthening education for consumers concerning the costs and benefits of various insurance options; for example, through the use of web-based comparisons of different plan features and costs.
4. Establishing methods to inform consumers about costs, reimbursement rates, and insurance benefits at the time services are being rendered.

Behavioral and Mental Health Care

1. Optimizing relationships and coordination between the state operated mental health system with mental and behavioral health services provided by the private sector, VA, and other public and private systems.
2. Developing models of improved integration of mental and behavioral health care with general and primary care.
3. Expanding and better coordinating services for people with physical health problems (e.g., diabetes, heart disease) and co-occurring mental health conditions.
4. Focusing services on achieving comprehensive physical and psychological well being rather than concentrating narrowly on treating mental illnesses.
5. Expanding school-based programs for enhancing mental health; including preventing mental health disorders and recognizing and treating mental health conditions.

Needs for Additional Research and Data

1. Better data by which to identify and address disparities in care based on race, ethnicity, income, gender, and other factors.
2. Information on limitations in access to health care in rural areas.
3. Data concerning processes and effects of various approaches to management of care and case management.
4. Information about the effect of child support problems on the provision of health care to dependent children.
5. Additional consideration of the applicability of models from other countries for the structuring and financing of care in Ohio.
6. Determining the best and most consistent use of quality-of-care measures, and assessing the impacts of those measures on the delivery of medical services and patient outcomes.
7. Evaluation of the effect of different insurance plans (for example, high-deductible plans) on access, quality, and efficiency of care, and on patient outcomes.
8. Analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of various models for integrating (or separating) mental and general care services.

 

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The Center for Health Outcomes, Policy and Evaluation Studies (HOPES) was established in 1994 to respond to the needs of health care policy decision-makers at local, state and national levels. The Center for HOPES, which is located at OSU's School of Public Health, conducts applied health services research studies to help public and private organizations evaluate clinical effectiveness, quality of care, costs of medical services, process flow in health care institutions, and other investigations in the areas of health outcomes, policy and evaluation. For more information about research services offered by the Center for HOPES, please contact us at hopes@cph.osu.edu.

The Ohio State University School of Public Health was formed in 1995 and is fully accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. It is the first and only school of public health in Ohio. While an independent unit within the university, the School is an integral part of OSU's comprehensive health sciences campus.