On November 20, Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis, Ph.D., discussed the pending national health reform legislation and its implications for New York and the country at the Twentieth Annual Symposium on Health Care Services: Research and Practice. Approximately 300 researchers, policymakers, clinicians, and administrators attended the Symposium, which was sponsored by the GNYHA Foundation and the United Hospital Fund (UHF).
In her keynote address, Dr. Davis provided a detailed comparison of the provisions within the recently passed House bill and the new Senate bill released by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). She also discussed the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates of the major sources of the bills’ additional costs and savings, and their net cumulative effect on the Federal deficit. Dr. Davis noted that CBO has historically underestimated the effect of delivery system reform savings and said she expected that the current savings estimates may also be understated.
The Symposium included morning sessions that focused on health information technology, substance abuse as a chronic health problem, and a poster session on health services research and studies occurring in this region. The two afternoon roundtable sessions focused on hospital quality improvement initiatives and qualitative research methods.