Fast Facts
- What questions does the statute require the Working Group to seek answers to?
- What are the activities the Working Group is going to pursue and what products will it generate?
- On what subjects will information be gathered during the Hearings?
- Why are hearings an integral part of the Working Group's responsibilities?
- Who will present information at the Hearings?
- What information will be included in The Health Report to the American People?
- How will The Health Report to the American People be disseminated?
- What is the purpose of the Community Meetings?
- What happens after the Community Meetings?
- Will the public have an opportunity to comment on the interim recommendations?
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What happens after that?
What questions does the statute require the Working Group to seek answers to?
What health care benefits and services should be provided?
How does the American public want health care delivered?
How should health care coverage be financed?
What trade-offs are the American public willing to make in either benefits or financing to ensure access to affordable, high-quality health care coverage and services?
What are the activities the Working Group is going to pursue and what products will it generate?
The process, as stipulated by the statute, is to:
Hold hearings to examine a list of subjects.
Prepare and make available to health care consumers The Health Report to the American People.
Hold health care community meetings throughout the United States.
Submit recommendations to Congress and the President.
On what subjects will information be gathered during the Hearings?
Information will be gathered on the subjects listed in the statute:
Capacity of public and private health care systems to expand coverage options.
Local community solutions to accessing health care coverage.
Efforts to enroll individuals currently eligible for public or private health care coverage.
Innovative State strategies to expand health care coverage and lower health care costs.
Cost of health care and effectiveness of care provided at all stages of disease.
Strategies to assist purchasers of health care, including consumers, to become more aware of the impact of costs and to lower the costs of health care.
Role of evidence-based medical practices that can be documented as restoring, maintaining, or improving a patient's health, and use of technology in supporting providers in improving quality of care and lowering costs.
The Working Group may hold additional hearings on subjects other than those listed in P.L. 108-173 so long as they:
Are determined to be necessary by the Working Group in carrying out their charge.
Do not delay the other activities of the Working Group.
Why are Hearings an integral part of the Working Group's responsibilities?
Hearings are neccessary to provide input to The Health Report to the American People. They allow the Working Group to:
Hear about innovative approaches in the private and public sector regarding:
Cost containment.
Quality enhancement.
Coverage expansion.
Improved access.
Build consensus around key issues.
Who will present information at the Hearings?
Citizens.
Patients.
Providers:
Individual—Physicians, nurses, other paid and non-paid health care workers and caregivers.
Institutional—Hospitals, long-term care facilities, managed care plans, clinics.
Purchasers:
Private—Employees, employers, consumers.
Public—Medicare, Medicaid, State Children's Health Insurance Programs, others.
Regulators:
Private Accreditors—National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).
Government.
Expert Groups:
Policymakers:
- Public sector—Federal, State, and local governments.
- Private sector—Business community.
Health services and health policy researchers:
- Academic, consulting firms, think tanks.
What information will be included in The Health Report to the American People?
The following items will be included in the Report:
A summary of:
Health care and related services that may be used by individuals throughout their life spans.
Cost of health care services and their medical effectiveness in providing better quality of care for different age groups.
Source of coverage and payment, including reimbursement, for health care services.
Reasons people are uninsured or underinsured and the cost to taxpayers, purchasers of health services, and communities when Americans are uninsured or underinsured.
Impact on health care outcomes and costs when individuals are treated in all stages of disease.
Health care cost containment strategies.
Information on health care needs that need to be addressed.
Examples of community strategies to provide health care coverage or access.
Information on geographic-specific issues relating to health care.
Information concerning the cost of care in different settings, including institutional-based care and home and community-based care.
Summary of ways to finance health care coverage.
Role of technology in providing future health care including ways to support the information needs of patients and providers.
How will The Health Report to the American People be disseminated?
The availability of the Report will be announced through multiple venues:
Internet:
Working Group Web site.
Stakeholder Web sites.
Media coverage:
National newspapers and radio programs.
Local newspapers and TV and radio programs (local announcements will be tied to community meetings).
Professional and trade journals:
Journals read by researchers and policymakers.
Stakeholder magazines and newsletters.
Information from the Report will be presented at various levels of complexity. The complete Report will be made available on the Working Group Web site, with full consideration of the material presented and multiple tables containing complete sets of data. Shorter summaries will be available on Stakeholder sites, at community meetings, and in print and radio venues, listing the major points of the Report and encapsulating the most illustrative data. Op-ed pieces, interviews, and longer interpretive articles in professional and trade journals may also summarize the major points of the Report.
What is the purpose of the Community Meetings?
Community Meetings will be held to receive information on the following:
What health care benefits and services should be provided?
How does the American public want health care delivered?
How should health care coverage be financed?
What trade-offs are the American public willing to make in either benefits or financing to ensure access to affordable, high-quality health care coverage and services?
What happens after the Community Meetings?
The Citizens' Working Group prepares and makes available to the public via the Internet and other public channels an interim set of recommendations on health care coverage and ways to improve and strengthen the health care system.
These interim recommendations will draw on information and preferences expressed at the community meetings.
This interim set of recommendations is due no later than 180 days after the last community meeting.
Will the public have an opportunity to comment on the interim recommendations?
Yes. The statute provides for a 90-day public comment period on the interim recommendations.
What happens after that?
No later than 120 days after the public comment period ends, the Working Group submits a final set of recommendations to Congress and the President.
The President then has 45 days to submit a report to Congress containing additional views and comments on the recommendations, as well as recommendations for legislative and administrative action that the President deems appropriate.
The statute provides that, not later than 45 days after receiving this report, each Committee of Jurisdiction of Congress shall hold at least one hearing on the final recommendations of the Working Group and the President's report.
