The growing cost of health care continues to vex state policymakers – Capitol Weekly | Capitol Weekly

As a sign of the times, capitol weekly The annual health care conference held Thursday focused broadly on the costs and efficiencies that the U.S. health care system deserves. become one of the most expensive things in the world.

The keynote speaker for the event was delivered by a lawmaker. jim wood (D-Healdsburg), long-time former chair. parliamentary health committeeit is estimated that 20 to 30 percent of medical costs are wasted.

“There is a lot of waste in the system because a third party usually pays the fee,” he lamented.

Mr. Wood also spoke about the growing influence of private equity in the healthcare sector and the concerns inherent in its tendency to consolidate and “eat up” smaller healthcare institutions and other entities.

He said: “It is the multiple transactions that lead to reduced competition within a geographic area, and the nature of these roll-ups can leave companies in debt.” “And because of the debt, there is a perverse incentive for companies to start churning services.”

The day began with a panel discussion on the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Kara CarterSenior Vice President, Strategy and Programs california healthcare foundation; sam cheongVice President for State Government Relations california life sciences; Dr. Matthew Solomon of kaiser permanente;and Chris Waugh, Sutter Health‘s first chief innovation officer talks about how advances in technology are improving care, from providing more efficient medical records to faster development of medicines.

“AI technology can significantly speed up the discovery process,” says Chung.

Overall, the committee touted the potential of AI to deliver health care better, cheaper, more equitably, and more efficiently in many ways.

“This is something really powerful,” Waugh said.

Still, it was clear from the discussion that the introduction of AI into healthcare systems is only the beginning.

“Innovation moves at the speed of trust, but trust is sometimes slow,” Carter said.

Next was a panel discussion about the new state Office of Affordable Care, which will be created in 2022 to move the Golden State to a lower-cost health care system. panelists ben johnsonVice President of. California Hospital Association; Lynn KinstManaging Director California Hemophilia Council; elizabeth mitchellPresident and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Health Purchaser Business Group; and former state senator Dr. richard panmembers of California Health Care Affordability Commission We talked about the opportunity for this new office to provide more affordable health care services in the Golden State.

“We are very involved in this new health care reimbursement division,” Johnson said. “We agree that affordability remains a major challenge.”

However, they noted that due to the importance of health care systems, they do not want affordability to trump patient care and access.

“Access and quality are our top priorities,” Mitchell said, adding that research shows that improving access to health care leads to lower costs. “I think it’s a false choice that we’re talking about access and affordability.”

“You’ll know if a health care plan is successful by finding patients with chronic diseases,” Pan said. “Right now, our system is trying to get healthy people into the system, not sick people. This is because it depends on the

“I think that’s an opportunity for this office… to be able to create that incentive,” he said.

The day concluded with a panel discussion on the impact of recent state budget shortfalls on health care in California. jess bartholowDirector of Government Communications SEIU California; Michelle CabreraManaging Director California Behavioral Health Directors Association; Beth Capellobbyist california health access;and Scott GravesBudget Director California Budget and Policy Centerdiscussed the constraints the budget is placing on the Golden State’s health care system.

Graves opened the conversation by warning that “many of the things that we’re seeing that will generate higher-than-expected revenue” cannot be counted as increases in health spending because of budget constraints like Prop. 98.

Still, Capel said it’s impressive that the administration and Congress were able to avoid major cuts to the health care system in these budget negotiations.

“It’s never fun to be faced with a tight budget, but after going through some really dark times in 2008, 2009 and 2010, it’s really good to be in a better place,” she said. said.

Mr Bartholo praised the “creative” budgeting employed this year.

“We have rejected austerity as a way forward,” she said, adding that “not having access to health care is one of the most inhumane experiences.”