Experts from Germany and U.S. will discuss quality in health care and universal care.
WASHINGTON, May 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by the German Embassy:
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With the U.S. presidential election only a few months away, comprehensive health care coverage for all remains one of the top domestic policy issues. Rising costs put pressure on individual citizens, employers, insurance companies, and state and federal government. Massachusetts introduced new mechanisms to provide coverage for all; other states, including Minnesota, are seeking to optimize the existing system. This creates new opportunities but also new challenges. Expanding the number of consumers will significantly increase the market for providers of services and products. At the same time, any system that mandates universal coverage must develop mechanisms that assure long-term financial sustainability. As a result the benefits and costs of drugs, services, and procedures draw close scrutiny. In Germany and elsewhere in Europe this trend has fully unfolded; in the United States it is accelerating.
The May 19 sessions will address universal health care possibilities; May 20 will focus on health technology assessment in the pharmaceutical industry. Expected outcomes include an understanding of where health technology assessment is moving, a comparison of how the two countries use evidence-based medicine, and an examination of what structures are most conducive to ensuring high-quality health care for all.
The German delegation includes the key decision makers for health care policy in Germany. U.S. speakers include Dr. Frank Cerra (AHC, University of Minnesota), Commissioner Cal Ludeman (Minnesota Department of Human Services), and Dr. Steven Sheingold, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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