Live From Aspen — Governors and an HHS Secretary Sound Off

The Host

It’s not precisely information that our nation’s well being care system is simply a “system” in essentially the most beneficiant sense of the phrase and that nobody entity is absolutely accountable for it. However, there are some particular tasks that belong to the federal authorities, others that belong to the states, and nonetheless others which might be shared between them. And typically individuals and packages fall via the cracks.

Talking earlier than a stay viewers on June 23 at Aspen Concepts: Well being in Colorado, three former governors — considered one of whom additionally served as secretary of the Division of Well being and Human Providers — mentioned what it might take to make the nation’s well being care system run extra easily.

The session, moderated by KFF Well being Information’ Julie Rovner, featured Democrat Kathleen Sebelius, a former governor of Kansas and HHS secretary beneath President Barack Obama; Republican Chris Sununu, former governor of New Hampshire; and Democrat Roy Cooper, former governor of North Carolina.

Among the many takeaways from the dialogue:

• States — and the governors who lead them — are main “prospects” of the federal well being system. As an example, states run analysis universities with assistance from federal grants from the Nationwide Institutes of Well being. States additionally run Medicaid, the joint state-federal program for these with low incomes and disabilities, via which a lot of the nation’s take care of points resembling psychological well being and substance use problems is funded. The truth is, most federal cash despatched to states is for Medicaid.
• Cuts to Medicaid outlined within the Home and Senate variations of President Donald Trump’s One Massive Lovely Invoice Act would go away an enormous gap in state budgets — one which the states, already going through funds constraints, can be unable to fill with out making tough selections. Notably, the invoice doesn’t make substantive cuts Medicare, a program that has a major quantity of extra spending and is anticipated to be bancrupt inside a decade.
• Controlling well being care prices is a serious concern for the way forward for the nation’s fragmented well being care system, as is sustaining the well being care workforce. Extra individuals with out insurance coverage protection means increased total prices. Pandemic burnout, immigration raids, and even the price of faculty are placing stress on a dwindling workforce. The federal authorities might do extra to encourage medical professionals to enter major care and rural well being care.

Video of this episode is out there right here on YouTube.

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