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Health Care that Works for All Americans

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National Health Care Working Group Holds Public Hearing In Boston

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Jessica Federer
(301) 443-1521
(240) 676-3655
E-MAIL: jfederer@ahrq.gov

 

August 11, 2005 – Boston – The Citizens’ Health Care Working Group is holding its fourth regional hearing on August 17, at Harvard Medical, to learn about state, county, and local health care initiatives, mental health issues, employer proposals, and end-of-life care.
The Working Group is a nonpartisan group authorized by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, that is charged with developing recommendations for the President and Congress to provide “health care that works for all Americans.” The Working Group will develop these recommendations by holding hearings, developing and issuing the Health Report to the American People, which will be used to engage the American people in a dialogue on health care coverage, cost and related issues.

“American health care knowledge and technology offer unparalleled potential in treating disease and promoting health, yet we suffer from a health care financing and delivery system that produces a vexing set of missed opportunities to apply that potential,” said Richard Frank, Working Group Member and health economics professor at Harvard Medical School. “The intent of the Citizens’ Health Care Working Group is to engage the public in a dialogue that will produce solutions that lead to health care that works for all Americans.”

Following the conclusion of these regional hearings, the Citizens’ Health Care Working Group will release The Health Report to the American People. “Upon the release of our report, we invite the entire country to join us in an informed dialogue on health care in the United States,” said Randall L. Johnson, Chair of the Citizens’ Health Care Working Group and Director, Human Resources Strategic Initiatives, Motorola. “We have one of the best health care systems in the world but we know it’s not perfect for everyone. Too many people don’t get the care they need, and costs continue to rise for both employers and workers. We are at a crossroads for urgent change, and we want to encourage individuals to read The Health Report to the American People and take this opportunity to make their voices heard.”

The Working Group consists of 14 citizens from diverse backgrounds across the country, in addition to Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael O. Leavitt. This regional hearing is the fourth of a series of hearings to address innovative state strategies to expand health care coverage and lower health care costs; local community solutions to accessing health care coverage; the role of evidence-based medical practices and the use of technology; and strategies to assist purchasers of health care, including consumers, to be more cost conscious.

Working Group Member Richard Frank, a health economics professor at Harvard Medical School, was instrumental in bringing the Working Group to Massachusetts. Frank is a member of the Institute of Medicine and serves on its behavioral sciences board and advises several state mental health and substance abuse agencies on issues involving managed care and financing of care.

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Editor’s note: The Citizens’ Health Care Working Group is an independent body whose members were selected by the Comptroller General of the United States. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality provides administrative support as directed by the Medicare Modernization Act.

For more information, contact the Working Group at (301) 443-1502.