4:45 - 5:00 p.m.

Alice Burton, Director
State Coverage Initiatives program and
State Health Coverage Group, AcademyHealth

5:00 - 6:30 p.m.

Facilitator:
Anne Gauthier, Vice President
AcademyHealth

Presenter:
Jack Meyer
ESRI

This session will feature a presentation on the prominent Administration proposals for reform, with emphasis on the key policy debate issues for each, as well as the implications for state policy and implementation. In a facilitated discussion, state participants will have the opportunity to discuss current plans or activities to prepare for possible changes.

6:30 - 7:00 p.m.

7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Dinner and Dinner Keynote Presentation

Presenter:
W. David Helms, President and CEO
AcademyHealth

8:00 - 8:30 a.m.

Session 3. State of the States

Presenter:
Alice Burton, Director
State Coverage Initiatives program and
State Health Coverage Group, AcademyHealth

This session will provide an overview of the new SCI publication, "State of the States 2005," and insight into where states are both fiscally and programmatically, and what their prospects are for the coming year.

8:30 - 9:45 a.m.

Session 4. Rethinking Public Insurance: Medicaid and SCHIP

Moderator: Alice Burton, Director
State Coverage Initiatives program and
State Health Coverage Group, AcademyHealth

Panelist:
Alan Weil, Executive Director
National Academy for State Health Policy
Presentation Slides Handout

Debbie Chang, Senior Vice President
The Nemours Foundation  
Presentation Slides Handout

Alan Levine, Executive Director
Agency for Health Care Administration, Florida
Presentation Slides Handout

This session will highlight current and future roles for Medicaid and SCHIP. Not only does Medicaid hit its 40-year milestone this year, but proposals for significant reform are ready for discussion again in the new Congress. In addition, the SCHIP program faces scrutiny in its reauthorization process. Panelists will discuss program successes and issues needing resolution facing federal and state policymakers.

9:45 - 10:00 a.m.

10:00 -
11:30 a.m.

Session 5. Affording Prescription Drugs: Medicare's New Benefit, Reimportation and Latest Purchasing Strategies

Moderator:
Isabel Friedenzohn, Senior Associate
AcademyHealth

Panelists:
Vernon K. Smith, Principal
Health Management Associates
Presentation Slides Handout

Kimberly Fox
Senior Policy Analyst
Rutgers Center for State Health Policy
Presentation Slides Handout

Jack Hoadley, Research Professor
Health Policy Institute, Georgetown University
Presentation Slides Handout

This session will review the impact of Medicare Part D on Medicaid, and implementation issues for states. State lessons from implementation of the Medicare Rx discount card will be discussed. Additionally, the panel will address the most recent developments on prescription drug reimportation as well as state pharmaceutical pooled purchasing efforts.

Session 6. Purchasing Strategies to Increase Value and Access

Moderator:
Alice Burton, Director
State Coverage Initiatives program and
State Health Policy Group, AcademyHealth

Panelists:
Richard E. Curtis, President
Institute for Health Policy Solutions
Presentation Slides Handout

John F. Grgurina, Jr., Executive Director
PACAdvantage
Pacific Business Group on Health, Califormia
Presentation Slides Handout

David Haugen, Health Policy Analyst
Minnesota Department of Employee Relations
Presentation Slides Handout

This panel will provide an overview of public and private purchasing pools, specific state purchasing strategies and examine the impact of federal AHP proposals on states.

Session 7. Cost Drivers: Latest Trends and Options

Moderator:
Anne Gauthier, Vice President
AcademyHealth

Panelists:
Paul Ginsburg, President
Center for Studying Health System Change
Presentation Slides Handout

Seema Verma, Consultant
Indiana
Presentation Slides Handout

Ellen Schnieter, Associate Director
Maine Governor's Office of Health Policy and Finance
Presentation Slides Handout

Panelists in this session will assess the latest national health care cost trends and review state options for controlling costs.