Health Practice Council highlights

The Health Practice Council:

• Visited Capitol Hill to discuss various issues related to insurance reform with congressional offices, including the effects of risk pooling on premiums in both the small group and individual markets, small business health reform proposals, the role and experience of the Massachusetts health reform program, effectiveness of disease management programs, the Bush administration’s proposal to restructure the tax incentives for health insurance, and mental health parity legislation.
• Developed content for an Election 2008 website that includes issue backgrounders on risk pooling, Medicare, rising health care costs, medical reinsurance, and consumer-driven health plans.
• Published issue briefs on the 2008 Medicare trustees report, the fundamentals of insurance and implications for health coverage, the major drivers of health spending growth, and comparative effectiveness research.
• Hosted briefings for congressional staff on risk pooling, actuarial equivalence, and health care cost drivers.
• Testified on rising health care costs at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ spring meeting and on dependent health benefits during the National Conference of Insurance Legislators’ summer meeting.
• Published practice notes on evaluating the impact of a disease management program on the cost and utilization of medical services, certifying to the actuarial equivalence of a prescription drug plan (PDP) or Medicare Advantage PDP under Medicare Part D, and accounting for Medicare Part D.
  
  

Health Practice Council resources

See recent Academy publications, analyses, and comments on public policy health issues.

Go back to the Record home page.