WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com: “Diagnosing a Policy Fix to U.S. Health Care”

For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Mayers, president, WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com
608-212-9422

–U.S., State, Canadian Experts Scheduled for Sept. 19 WisPolitics.com-WisBusiness.com Event–

MADISON, Wis. – Dr. Ken Thorpe, executive director of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, and the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Antonia Maioni, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada and a U.S. and Canadian health care expert, will highlight a ” Diagnosing a Policy Fix to U.S. Health Care” conference on Friday, September 19.

WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com will convene the half-day conference at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison to bring together health experts with Wisconsin, Washington, D.C. and Canadian perspectives to discuss the ins and outs of how health care providers, insurance companies and policy makers are addressing proposed health care changes.

The confirmed keynote speakers:

— Dr. Ken Thorpe, professor and chair at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and the executive director of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD), is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

— Antonia Maioni, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada and an associate professor of political science and William Dawson Scholar at McGill University. She is the author of ‘Parting at the Crossroads: The Emergence of Health Insurance in the United States and Canada’ (Princeton University Press)

Other conference participants include: Dr. Doug Reding, vice president of the Marshfield Clinic and chair of the Clinic’s Government Relations Committee; Debra Whitman, staff director of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging; former State Department of Administration Secretary George Lightbourn, now with the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute; state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, author of the “Healthy Wisconsin” universal health care plan.; and other experts.

More details will be announced in coming weeks.

The event is open to the public. Individual tickets cost $45 if purchased by Sept. 5; tickets after that cost $60 each. Tables are available for purchase on a first- come, first- served basis at a cost of $450. Student discounts also will be available. The ticket price includes two meals.

For ticket information, contact Jim Greer at 608-237-6296 and greer@wispolitics.com

Initial sponsors for this event include the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD), Marshfield Clinic/Security Health Plan and Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc. The Government of Canada is an event partner. For sponsorship information, contact Jim Greer at 608-237-6296 and greer@wispolitics.com

WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com are independent, non-partisan news services based in Madison. Go to www.wispolitics.com and www.wisbusiness.com for more on the services.

EVENT DETAILS

Event Description:
The DIAGNOSING A POLICY FIX TO U.S. HEALTH CARE: A FORUM ON THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE POLICY will assemble key policy observers and policy makers to explore health care issues in light of the election of a new president and a new Congress. This forum will address proposed health care changes and the effects of those policies. Event details and a tentative agenda are listed below.

DIAGNOSING A POLICY FIX TO U.S. HEALTH CARE: A FORUM ON THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE POLICY

Date: Friday, September 19, 2008

Location: Alliant Energy Center, located in Madison, Wisconsin.

Format: Half-day, with keynote speakers plus breakout sessions.

TENTATIVE AGENDA:

**Friday

8 AM – Registration Begins

9 AM – Breakfast Begins

Welcome Keynote.

Morning Keynote

10:30 AM – Breakout Panel Session

12:15 PM- Luncheon Keynote Begins

1:30 PM – Conference Concludes