St. Paul Doctor Participates as Panelist on Payment Reforms

Washington, DC - Today experts met on Capitol Hill for the 2010 National Summit on Health Care Quality and Value. As part of the new health care law, this event is an opportunity for healthcare providers, consumer advocates, employers and other interested stakeholders across the country to come together to discuss how best to improve health care delivery and Medicare payment systems to reward high-quality care.

The National Summit was spearheaded by the Congressional Quality Care Coalition, which provides Members of Congress a forum to transform the health care system to reward value in care and make evidence-based, quality care the standard regardless of location in the United States. The Coalition will also continue to address geographic variation in Medicare reimbursement for seniors. Representatives Betty McCollum (MN-04), Bruce Braley (IA-01), Jay Inslee (WA-01), and Ron Kind (WI-03) are the co-chairs of the Congressional Quality Care Caucus.

"The National Summit is an important step toward providing all Americans with quality health care," said Congresswoman McCollum. "In the short-term, health care reform has already stopped the rampant and unethical business practices committed by many insurance companies. In the long-term, there must be greater efforts to make health care more efficient for patients and health care workers alike. My hope is that we will continue moving in the right direction."

"For decades, Iowa's doctors have been punished for no reason other than geography," said Congressman Braley. "Today's summit is an important step down the path of finally ending the unfair geographic disparities that have punished Iowa's medical providers for decades and changing the way Medicare does business. The issues being discussed today will not only give patients access to better care, but will also help move Medicare's reimbursement system to one that rewards quality outcomes instead of the number of tests performed. We still have a lot of work to do and I look forward to working closely with Secretary Sebelius to ensure we fully implement all the provisions she guaranteed during the late-night health care negotiations."

"Reducing costs and improving patient care takes a national effort," said Congressman Inslee. "The Quality Care Coalition has been at the forefront of this conversation and I look forward to the steps that come out of this summit. Making our health care system reward quality of care, not quantity of care, is key to our long term budget and health."

"A value-based reimbursement system benefits all regions - it provides the kind of care patients need and can afford, and reduces risks associated with overuse of the health care system," said Congressman Kind. "Today's summit will lead to a more cost effective way to pay for and deliver health care in our country and lower costs in the long run, something at which western Wisconsin has excelled."
"The National Summit on Health Care Quality and Value is an opportunity for all of us to learn that quality health care does not mean expensive health care," said Dr. Joseph Tashjian, Chief of Staff-elect at Regions Hospital and the immediate past President of St. Paul Radiology. "We can work together to utilize solutions that help both the patient and the payor. Fostering collaboration between the public and private sector will be important in achieving these goals."

The National Summit's participants included Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, officials from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, health care providers, health policy experts, and consumer stakeholders.