The Baker Institute Center for Health and Biosciences hosted its sixth biennial conference on health care reform. The United States witnessed a grueling congressional effort to overhaul Obamacare this summer, which ultimately left the legislation unchanged. In the meantime, most consumers continue to face rising health care costs, and many Americans still lack insurance coverage. Rapid changes are unfolding in health care markets — some of which will help, and others that will harm patients. Four leading health policy researchers discussed the changes most likely to influence U.S. health care. Topics included the role of government in access to drugs and drug pricing, as well as the rise of consumer-directed health plans. Additionally, the evolving role of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including the rollout of its new Medicare physician reimbursement system authorized under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, was also considered.
Breakfast and lunch were provided. Follow @BakerInstitute on Twitter, and join the conversation online with #BakerHealth.
Agenda
8:00 am
Breakfast and Registration
8:30 am
Opening Remarks
Vivian Ho, Ph.D.
James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics and Director, Center for Health and Biosciences, Baker Institute
8:45 am
What do we know about high deductible health plans?
Neeraj Sood, Ph.D.
Professor and Vice Dean for Research, Sol Price School of Public Policy, and Director of Research, Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, University of Southern California
The role of government in enabling access to pharmaceuticals: What have we learned from Medicare Part D?
Maria Polyakova, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine
10:45 am
Break
11:00 am
Navigating the complexities of MACRA
Bruce Landon, M.D.
Professor of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, and Professor of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
12:00 pm
Lunch
12:20 pm
Mending the marketplace
Richard G. Frank, Ph.D.
Margaret T. Morris Professor of Health Economics, Harvard Medical School
1:20 pm
Closing Remarks
Vivian Ho, Ph.D.
James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics and Director, Center for Health and Biosciences, Baker Institute
Support for this program has been generously provided by members of the Health Policy Forum: Baylor College of Medicine, CHI St. Luke’s Health, Community Health Choice, The Episcopal Health Foundation, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Life Gift, Texas Children’s Hospital, Ms. Cullen K. Geiselman, Mr. Wade A. Rakes II and Mr. Nicholas Miller, Texas Heart Institute and UTMB, Office of the President.