<font size="-1" , face="Arial" ,"Helvetica">National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare

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Meeting Agenda

Monday, August 10, 1998
9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Cannon Caucus Room
345 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

Opening Remarks by the Chairmen
9:00 a.m.

Graduate Medical Education (GME)
Study Group

9:15 - 11:00 a.m.

This study group was formed to examine the issue of graduate medical education (GME) and its relationship with Medicare. At this session, Commissioners will start to explore the implications of 1) Medicare’s role in GME, 2) GME financing, and 3) how GME issues should be managed.

Speakers: Dr. David Blumenthal, Director, Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Executive Director, The Commonwealth Fund Task Force on Academic Health Centers; Robert Helms, Director of Health Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute; and Dr. Roger Herdman, Senior Scholar, Institute of Medicine.

Reform Task Force
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

The Reform Task Force has examined out-of-pocket spending, supplemental coverage (Medigap, employer-purchased and Medicaid), long-term care and Medicare provider payment issues. In this session, the task force will discuss management and administration issues.

Speakers: Lynn Etheredge, Member, National Academy of Social Insurance Panel on Fee-For-Service Medicare; Bill Scanlon, Director, Health Financing and Systems Issues, General Accounting Office; and Dr. Robert Waller, President and CEO, The Mayo Clinic.

Restructuring Task Force
2:00 - 3:30 p.m.

The Restructuring Task Force has heard from and spoken with a range of experts, including Thomas Saving, Theodore Marmor, Stuart Butler, Robert Moffit and David Kendall, about prepaid savings accounts, international health care experiences, and the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program. In this session, the task force will examine the premium contribution approach to restructuring Medicare.

Speakers: Robert Reischauer, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institute; Bryan Dowd and Roger Feldman, both Professors at the University of Minnesota; and Mark Pauly, Vice Dean, Wharton School of Business.

Modeling Task Force
3:30 - 4:30 p.m.

The Modeling Task Force will update the full Commission on its progress in designing a standard format for the cost estimates of Commission proposals.

Information About the Medicare Commission’s Task Forces and GME Study Group

The 17-member National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare has established three task forces and a graduate medical education (GME) study group to examine various aspects of Medicare.

In the course of their work, the task forces and GME study group will make presentations to the full Commission about their findings and analyses.

Commission chairmen, Sen. John Breaux and Rep. Bill Thomas, are members of all task forces and the GME group.

The Graduate Medical Education (GME) Study Group is examining Medicare’s role in GME. This group is chaired by Bill Frist.

The Reform Task Force
is looking for innovative solutions to improve the current Medicare program. Members are:

Michael Bilirakis
Colleen Conway-Welch
John Dingell
Illene Gordon
John D. Rockefeller, IV

The Restructuring Task Force is examining ways to structure Medicare. Members are:

Stuart Altman
Bill Frist
Phil Gramm
Samuel Howard
Anthony Watson

The Modeling Task Force is working to 1) define the Medicare problem, 2) highlight Medicare’s expected demographic changes, and 3) detail the effects of those expected changes. Members are:

Robert Kerrey
James McDermott
Deborah Steelman
Laura D’Andrea Tyson
Bruce Vladeck


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