SGE Evening Seminar
Crises in Health Care and Health Insurance in the U.S. and Possible Solutions
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 6:00-8:15 p.m.
Conference room 483, Congressional Budget Office
2nd & D Streets, SW, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20515
(Metro: Federal Center SW Station)
Panel:
David Auerbach, Principal Analyst, Health and Human Resources Division, Congressional Budget Office
Molly Voris, Senior Policy Analyst, Health Division
Center for Best Practices, National Governors Association
John Rother, Director, Policy and Strategy, AARP
Light refreshments served. The seminar is free, but please E-mail Melvyn Sacks at MelSacks@cavtel.net for reservations.
In 2005, almost 47 million Americans-including more than 8 million children-were uninsured, and many more had inadequate insurance. We spend more on health care per person than anyone else. French medical care is among the best in the world yet costs half of that of U.S. health care. The U.S. has the highest infant mortality and close to the lowest life expectancy of any advanced western nation. One problem is our fragmented system that has much higher administrative costs than the straightforward government insurance systems prevalent in the rest of the advanced world. In addition, insurers often refuse to pay for preventive care, even though such care saves substantial amounts of money in the long run.
Massachusetts, California, and Vermont have advanced universal health care plans. Maryland lawmakers are drawing up ambitious proposals to provide medical insurance to the 780,000 uninsured-one in seven residents in the state. Our panelists will look at the present health care situation in the U.S. and examine possible solutions now being proposed.