What’s happening: During a panel discussion last week, CHA shared hospital perspectives on how the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) can make care more affordable while protecting access to high-quality, equitable care.
What else to know: CHA participated in a four-person panel on OHCA hosted by Capitol Weekly during the publication’s annual conference focused on health care.
The panel also featured Richard Pan, MD, a current OHCA board member and former state senator instrumental in developing the legislation that created OHCA. During the panel, Dr. Pan emphasized the importance of involving all health care stakeholders in this work, voicing his perspective as a board member that “we have to build trust.” Ben Johnson, CHA’s group vice president covering affordability issues, joined the panel and focused his remarks on the importance of taking a thoughtful approach to reining in health care costs to avoid unintended consequences that may impede patient care.
He also highlighted ways hospitals are already working to bring down the cost of care, such as through value-based arrangements and investments in preventive care. Providing high-quality health care is a collective effort involving not just hospitals but also payers and pharmaceutical companies, Johnson said, noting that “all of health care is responsible for improving affordability.”
More information can be found in Capitol Weekly’s coverage of the event.
