Healthcare Forum with HHS Sec Sebelius and MA Gov Patrick

Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited to a healthcare reform forum featuring Governor Deval Patrick and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at the Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston, MA. The forum featured comments by several area healthcare experts, mostly pertaining to what has worked in the MA healthcare reform process and what can and should be replicated at the national level as the reform conversation moves forward.
There was a brief Q&A, they only took two questions, and I was fortunate enough to ask the final question of the forum and deliver a packet directly to HHS Secretary Sebelius outlining our issues. The rough text of my question, as best I can remember it, is as follows;
“Governor Patrick, thank you for your leadership on the issue of healthcare reform and for having us here today. Secretary Sebelius, welcome to Boston.
My question is for Secretary Sebelius; what role do you see homecare having in the healthcare reform process? And the second part; we find ourselves in a hospital setting today and I cannot help remark on the Hippocratic Oath, which states – “above all else, do no harm.” Several initiatives floated by CMS and the previous administration stand to do great harm. I am aware your office received a letter from Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown last week regarding the competitive bidding program, which is a fatally flawed piece of legislation.
So again, I ask what role do you see homecare playing and what is your view on homecare in the reform process?”
As is always the case when there is a microphone in front of me, I left out some key points, but Secretary Sebelius gave a thoughtful answer highlighting the potential homecare has, the fact that it is the preferred setting for patients, and that they (the government) have yet to find the best way to discover the right prices to pay for homecare services.
It was an interesting forum and I was fortunate to have a front row seat to witness the conversation. I remain excited by the specter of domestic healthcare reform, but also terrified that the process will be controlled by the largest organizations possible and reshape the healthcare system to their liking and to their benefit. There are critical elements of the current healthcare system which are controlled by very small businesses and organizations who don’t necessarily have the clout or connections in Washington to design a system to their liking; we have worked very hard to make our voices heard and our value proposition understood and it continues to be my hope that people like HHS Secretary Sebelius, White House Health Czar Nancy Ann-DeParle, and our elected officials in Congress and the Senate, understand what it is we do, the tremendous value we bring to the healthcare continuum and the very real and dire negative consequences that exist, both on levels of patient care, and continuing cost growth, if they further marginalize homecare through the current process.
I will remain an interested and vocal observer and agitator; there is no chance that when this process is done I will look at myself in the mirror and think I didn’t do enough to fight for my industry, my patients and my employees. Three trips to Washington, two senior level reform meetings, and countless emails and phone calls to elected officials are the work and time I have put in to help ensure our voice is heard…results have yet to be seen, but I am hopeful…