The AFL-CIO convention in Pittrburgh voted last night to endorse single-payer, universal healthcare for all Americans, and rU.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) just trotted out to reporters his bill to provide non-single-payer, non-universal healthcare for not-quite-all Americans.

Coincidence? 

With healthcare premiums expected to rise 94 percent by 2020, everyone agrees something must be done. Well, everyone except town-hall criers.

And Fox News.

And Republicans.

The main stickling point seems to concern government-run healthcare--or Red Communist Marxist Leninist Nancy Pelosi Mandatory Death Systems in Sean Hannity-speak. A lot has been said both for and against the public healthcare provided in Britain, Canada and Germany.

Now UC Irvine plans to cut through the bullshit and take a hard look at foreign plans and how they compare with what Glenn Beck calls the greatest healthcare system on Earth. When he isn't crying like a baby, that is.

By the way, don't be scared off by managed-care behemoth Kaiser Permanente being a sponsor of the conference (details of which follow the jump). The co-sponsor is the independent California Healthcare Foundation, which seeks affordable healthcare for all and has provided grants to treat poor Californians. 

Medical Industry E-Mail News Service™ -- Sept 14 2009

Irvine CA USA -- The UC Irvine Center For Health Care Management & Policy at the Paul Merage School of Business announced details today of its upcoming 1-day conference, Comparative Effectiveness: Lessons From Abroad, set for Oct 01 2009.

The conference, part of a regular series, attracts senior management from health care organizations, the public sector, academics, and physician and nurse executives. Attendees have an opportunity to network and meet the speakers at a post-event reception.

Speakers from Britain, Canada, Germany and the US will share insights on their experience, and health care leaders from the US will assess the implications of a similar process in this country.

Focus:

This conference provides a unique venue for dialogue among private and public sector leaders on key issues facing the nation on health care reform. It will help to determine what the US can learn from other countries in using comparative effectiveness (CE) analysis to improve health care quality and efficiency.

Some observes have expressed concern that federal funding for CE research in the US may evolve from providing information to developing a centralized national coverage decision-making process. Can knowledge of the foreign experience with CE enable the US to develop a uniquely American solution that harvests the benefits of better information while preserving independent decision-making?

When & Where:

Date: Thurs Oct 01 2009
Conference: 8:30 am-4:30 pm
Reception: 4:30 pm-5:30 pm
Site: Arnold & Mabel Beckman Center, Irvine
(adjacent to UC Irvine campus)
National Academies of Sciences & Engineering
100 Academy Dr
Irvine CA 92697
949-721-2200 Beckman Center phone

Driving Directions:
http://merage.uci.edu/go/directions

Register Today:
http://merage.uci.edu/ResearchAndCenters/HealthCare/Content/Health-Care-Speaker-Series/159

• Space is limited (all available seating sells out each year)
• $395 per person general public through Sept 18 2009
• $350 per person UCI Faculty, Staff & Alumni
• $450 per person after Sept 18 2009 for all registrations

About the Health Care Speaker Series:

The Distinguished Speaker Program offers an annual series of lectures featuring prominent policy-makers, scholars, journalists, and other opinion leaders who address some of the most pressing issues in healthcare today.

This lecture series was launched in 2001 with Paul Ellwood MD -- the "father of HMOs," and instrumental in forming federal health policy and reforming private sector systems -- asking a provocative question: "Does managed care need to be replaced?" In later years, industry leaders such as John Wennberg MD, Dir, Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences at Dartmouth Medical School; John Calfee PhD, resident scholar, American Enterprise Institute; and Robert Moffit PhD, Dir, Domestic Policy Studies for the Heritage Foundation; joined the list of prominent speakers at this coveted event.

Who Should Attend:

• Physicians and nurses in administrative positions, physicians in private, group or clinical practice
• Presidents, CEOs, trustees and senior management in provider and insurer organizations
• Senior executives in pharmaceutical, medical device, biotech and other health care organizations who define strategy and policy
• Employers who deal with the problem of ever-increasing health care costs while attempting to increase employee choice
• Government officials who define and implement health policy

Conference Sponsors:

• Kaiser Permanente
• California HealthCare Foundation

Event Speakers:

• Donald E. Bobo, Jr; Corporate VP, Health Valve Therapy, Edwards Lifesciences
• Stirling Bryan MS PhD; Professor of Health Economics, University of British Columbia, Canada
• Andrew Dillon; CEO, National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence, Great Britain
• Paul J. Feldstein PhD; Professor & Gumbiner Chair in Health Care Management, Paul Merage School of Business, UC Irvine
• Marjorie Ginsburg MPH; Exec Director, Center for Health Care Decisions
• Peter V. Lee JD; Exec Director, National Health Policy, Pacific Business Group on Health
• Murray N. Ross PhD; VP, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Director, Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy
• Steven D. Pearson MD MSc FRCP; President, Institute for Clinical & Economic Review, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Andrew J. Policano PhD; Dean, Paul Merage School of Business, UC Irvine
• Jill Sanders PhD; President & CEO, Canadian Agency for Drugs & Technologies in Health, Canada
• Peter Sawicki MD; Dir of Institute for Quality & Efficiency in Health Care, Germany
• Sean Tunis MD MSc; Founder & Director, Center for Medical Technology Policy
• Jill Yegian PhD; Dir of Health Insurance, California HealthCare Foundation

Topics Include:

• US - Comparative Effectiveness & Health Policy -- This session will present an understanding of current policy and concerns, reform issues, quality and costs. Why is Comparative Effectiveness (CE) on the policy agenda? What is the difference between clinical CE and CE for health benefit coverage? Also discussed will be an understanding of CE analysis -- its usefulness and limitations.
• How is Comparative Effectiveness Used Abroad -- Speakers from Britain, Germany and Canada will describe the use of CE in patient treatment decision-making.
• Implications of Comparative Effectiveness for the Pharmaceutical, Provider, Payor Sectors & Patients -- Executives from these organizations will discuss the impact of developing a national capacity for Comparative Effectiveness research in the US Will it inevitably lead to payment and coverage decisions?
• Advantages & Limitations of a Centralized National Capacity -- Speakers from Britain, Canada and Germany will discuss the issues with executives from pharmaceutical, provider, payor and patient organizations. What can be adopted from other countries and what will not work here? How do other countries handle the issues of innovation and R&D? How do other countries handle stakeholder perspectives and opposition?

Registration & Fees:

Only paid registrations will have a confirmed seat. Reservations by mail must be postmarked no later than Fri Sept 18 2009. After this date, only faxed registrations with credit card payment will be accepted. Registration fee is per person, includes all sessions, breakfast, lunch, coffee breaks, buffet reception and conference materials.