health policy 2014 - Health Policy: What It Is, How It Works (And Doesn't), And What Health Care Professionals Can Do To Influence It

Overview: Medicare, Medicaid, health care information technology requirements, the Affordable Care Act, insurance regulation - all these and much more are the product of the tangled web that is the health policy process. Complex, inscrutable, and sometimes downright laughable, health policymaking and its results often seem to be a cross between the New York subway system and a science fiction novel. However, those results are real and are deadly serious, influencing - and often directing and defining - everything from how health care providers are paid to public health priorities to how insurers are supposed to behave. Conducted on both the federal and state level, and sometimes on the local level as well, health policy is a crucial factor in determining the size, shape, and nature of the health care system.
Is it a political process? Of course. But the politics can often be unpredictable, cutting across party lines and creating the strangest of bedfellows. Unlikely partnerships between Republicans and Democrats created the Children's Health Insurance Program and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, for example. In other instances, notably the original Medicare legislation and the Affordable Care Act, political partisanship almost killed the proposed legislation. In many other cases, what emerged from the process differed very greatly from what had been envisioned by either side.
Added to this potent political brew are a wide array of special interests that are often fighting an all-out war with each other, pushing incompatible agendas at overburdened policymakers who have their own obligations and priorities. At best, this produces something of a balancing act; at worst, it produces gridlock, which has been much on display in recent years.
This much can be said for many other areas of policymaking, but health policy is singular in several respects. First, it literally deals with life and death issues, which cannot be said of, say, regulation of entertainment venues. Second, at least half of all health care spending in the United States consists of taxpayer funds, one way or another - and the percentage is even higher in other countries. Third, because health care systems are so complex and multifaceted, efforts to regulate and shape them are almost always highly complex themselves, which can lead to misunderstanding, misinformation (accidental or intentional), and glitches that produce painful results. Fourth, many of the issues involved in health policymaking are highly emotionally charged - physician-assisted suicide, reproductive health concerns, use of narcotics, distribution of donated organs, and many others - and policymakers are not immune to emotional appeals.
Yet somehow, this mysterious and cumbersome process often manages to work and create change. This process, however, be more transparent. For too long the province of policy wonks and politicians, health policy needs to be better understood by health care professionals, so that they can have more of a voice in the proceedings, and bolster what is at times a shaky reality factor. In a democratic society, policy decisions that will sooner or later affect most members of that society should not be conducted in secret, or in a manner that is so confusing that no one except a few insiders knows what is going on. Health care professionals must have a place at the table, and must know how to work from that place to help shape the future of their field.
Why should you attend: Health policy affects all aspects of the provision of care, from what services are covered to how and how many providers are paid to credit ratings to, sometimes, the very survival of health care organizations. But although everyone in health care is aware, on some level, of Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and other major health policy initiatives, few know how they came to be, what the process of their creation was, or who and what influenced that process. Traditionally the province of policy wonks, elected and appointed politicians and their staffs, and special-interest lobbyists (who often have a huge influence on what happens), health policymaking tends to leave in its wake the very people who must provide care in keeping with policies with whose creation they had nothing to do.
This webinar will explain the basic character of health policymaking and will offer concrete advice as to how health care professionals can take more of a part in the process. Familiarity with health policy - the issues, the process, the facts, and the foibles - allows health care professionals to understand what is required of them in order to achieve workable policy. Without such knowledge, health care providers and others in the field are often left feeling helpless, as though they have no power to shape the events that will control the circumstances of their future work.
Knowing the basics of health policy, on the other hand, can empower those who work in health care to influence events, protect themselves and their professions, and - most important - better serve patients. In this case, as in so many others, knowledge really is power.
Areas Covered in the Session:
History of major health policy decisions, with examples
Analysis of recent health policy initiatives
Key factors in the health policy process
What tends to go wrong and right
The power of politics
The power of timing
Things to do (and not to do) when advocating in the policy arena
The stakes
What to do in the face of success or failure
Looking ahead
Who Will Benefit:
Hospital and Health Care System Trustees
C-Suite Executives
Department Heads
Clinicians
Health Care Professionals
Volunteers
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Professionals, Including Sales Force
Academics from Schools of Public Health, Medicine, and Nursing
Leaders of Public interest Groups in Health Care
Educational Objectives(S)
Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:
Discuss health policy and its impact on the federal, state and local health care system.
CME Credit Statement
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of CFMC and MentorHealth. CFMC is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
CFMC designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
CNE Credit Statement
CFMC is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the California Board of Registered Nurses, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. Provider approved by California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider # 16031 for 1.5 contact hours.
Other Healthcare Professionals Credit Statement
This educational activity has been planned and implemented following the administrative and educational design criteria required for certification of health care professions continuing education credits. Registrants attending this activity may submit their certificate along with a copy of the course content to their professional organizations or state licensing agencies for recognition for 1.5 hours.
Disclosure Statement
It is the policy of CFMC and MentorHealth that the faculty discloses real or apparent conflicts of interest relating to the topics of the educational activity. All members of the faculty and planning team have nothing to disclose nor do they have any vested interests or affiliations
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Obtaining Certificate of Credit
Colorado Foundation for Medical Care (CFMC) hosts an online activity evaluation system, certificate and outcomes measurement process. Following the activity, you must link to CFMC's online site (link below) to complete the evaluation form in order to receive your certificate of credit. Once the evaluation form is complete and submitted, you will be automatically sent a copy of your certificate via email. Please note, participants must attend the entire activity to receive all types of credit. Continuing Education evaluation and request for certificates will be accepted up to 60 days post activity date. CFMC will keep a record of attendance on file for 6 years.
Emily Friedman is an independent health policy and ethics analyst based in Chicago. She has been researching and writing and speaking about health policy since 1977. Among her areas of interest are future trends in health care; health care reform initiatives; “comparative effectiveness” and other quality improvement efforts; the social ethics of health care; the future of health care leadership; the ethics of health care leadership; health policy and how it works (or doesn’t); the impact of demographic change on health care; insurance and coverage issues; lessons from international health systems; and the relationship of the public and society with the health care system. She is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, where she has repeatedly been named one of the School’s best teachers; an honorary life member of both the American Hospital Association and the American Medical Association; and a prolific lecturer and writer.
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