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Event Health Affordable Care Act

New York's Next Health Care Revolution: How Employers Can Help Empower Patients and Consumers

15
Friday May 2015

New York State stands at a watershed moment. A confluence of forces ranging from the Affordable Care Act to existing trends in the employer insurance market are beginning to turn millions of patients into “patient-consumers.” An uptick in high-deductible plans is shifting more costs to patients. Narrow networks on New York’s insurance exchange and among private employers are forcing patients to seek out low cost, high-quality providers. The Cadillac Tax—a 40% federal excise tax on high-cost health plans starting in 2018—will also force public and private employers to re-think existing health care arrangements.

The potential for change is huge. Armed with the necessary information on cost, quality, and safety, patients shopping for more affordable insurance and more affordable providers can force New York’s opaque, expensive health care system to focus on competition, transparency, and customer service—already the norm for most other industries. And while New York has already done much to reform its Medicaid program, liberate data on health care pricing, and shift away from fee-for-service reimbursement systems, much more work remains to make navigating the state’s health care system simpler, safer, and less costly for patients.

In a just-released collection of essays published by the Manhattan Institute, a group of leading experts offer a clear diagnosis of New York’s health care ills, as well as a menu of concise, actionable reforms that employers and policymakers can use to make the Empire State’s health care system truly patient-and consumer-centered. Please join us as our distinguished panelists discuss New York’s imminent health care revolution, and what it means for New Yorkers.

Introduction and Opening Remarks

Author: David Goldhill, CEO, Game Show Network;
Title: Catastrophic Care: Why Everything We Think We Know About Health Care Is Wrong
James Knickman, President & CEO, New York State Health Foundation

Panel I: Diagnosing New York's Underlying Problems - And Opportunities

Moderator: Reihan Salam, Executive Editor, National Review
Joseph Antos, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Leah Binder, President & CEO, The Leapfrog Group, Laurel Pickering, Executive Director, Northeast Business Group on Health; Peter Ward, President, New York Hotel & Motel Trades Council, AFL-CIO

Panel II: The Future of Health Care in New York: Personal, Digital, Affordable

Moderator: Paul Howard, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Medical Progress, Manhattan Institute
Eran Bellin, Vice President, Clinical IT Research and Development, Montefiore IT; Shari Coulter Ford, Senior Vice President, Partnership for NYC; Robin Gelburd, President, FAIR Health Inc.; Mario Schlosser , CEO, Oscar Health Insurance; David Whitlinger, Executive Director, New York eHealth Collaborative

Discussion

Moderator: E.J. McMahon, President, Empire Center for Public Policy
Hon. Richard Gottfried, NYS Assembly Member, Chair, Committee on Health; Hon. Kemp Hannon, NYS Senator, Chair, Senate Standing Committee on Health

Panel III: Private Employers: Pioneers On The Health Care Frontier

Moderator: David Sandman, Senior Vice President, New York State Health Foundation
Steve First, Vice President, Global Benefits, Pfizer; Robert Moffit, Senior Fellow, Heritage Foundation; William Winkenwerder, Jr., Chairman, Winkenwerder Strategies; Former President and CEO, Highmark, Inc.; Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (2001-07)

212-599-7000

communications@manhattan-institute.org