Federal, State Officials Stump for Changes in Health Care System
On Thursday, federal and state health care officials discussed various proposals to improve the efficiency and quality of the U.S. health care system, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
The officials spoke during the Southern California Health Care Summit in Ontario.
Dev GnanaDev -- medical director at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center and past president of the California Medical Association -- said CMA supports health system reforms that would reduce insurer profits and prohibit policy rescissions. GnanaDev also called for policymakers to boost reimbursement levels for Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program.
Anne Haddix, chief policy officer for CDC, said her agency plans to support initiatives that target disease prevention. She said CDC also hopes to bolster payments for physicians who work with community programs on preventive care.
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology David Blumenthal also spoke during the summit about the federal government's plans to support health IT implementation through grants and incentive programs. Blumenthal noted that health IT can boost health care communication, cost-effectiveness, efficiency and patient tracking (Hines, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 10/29). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.