Governor Unveils Health Care Summit Recommendations

Press Release

GOVERNOR UNVEILS HEALTH CARE SUMMIT RECOMMENDATIONS

Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter said today that he supports creating an affordable health care coverage package for all uninsured and underinsured Idahoans through public/private partnerships, with an emphasis on preventive care and personal responsibility.

It is a key element of the recommendations developed by participants in Governor Otter's recent Health Care Summit. He unveiled the proposals today at a meeting of the new Idaho Falls City Club, and announced who will serve on a select committee of stakeholders to follow up on the recommendations.

"Let me say up front that I fully expect people to find fault with these proposals. What's more, I don't expect them all to be enacted or implemented. That's the nature of the public process," Governor Otter said. "But I DO expect these proposals to be a starting point for serious discussion about the challenges we face in health care and how we as a state can best address them."

There are a total of 11 proposals divided into five areas of emphasis:

• Building Idaho's health care workforce,
• Providing comprehensive insurance coverage,
• Prevention and personal responsibility,
• Innovative service delivery models,
• Behavioral health (mental health and substance abuse treatment).

All the Health Care Summit's recommendations, as well as identified challenges and potential solutions, can be found on the Governor's Web site at: http://gov.idaho.gov/healthcarerecommendations.pdf.

"Please remember that this is a work in progress, and nothing is written in stone. My goal here is FINDING solutions, not imposing them. The bottom line is making health care more accessible and affordable for all Idahoans," Governor Otter said. "The key to success is doing it in a way that ensures individuals and families are empowered to make the important decisions about meeting their own health care needs."

Brent Brocksome, a businessman and former state representative from Boise, has agreed to chair the eight-member Governor's Select Committee on Health Care. Governor Otter said he looks forward to a candid statewide public process.

"Brent tells me he will conduct regional public hearings, and I've told him not to feel limited by the recommendations he already has. If there are better ideas out there, we want to hear them," the Governor said. "The committee will work closely with the Legislature, and I will be expecting periodic progress reports."

Joining Brocksome on the committee are Sandy Patano of Coeur d'Alene, state director for Senator Larry Craig; Joan Kroch, health insurance policy program specialist for the Idaho Department of Insurance in Boise; Robin Dodson, chief academic officer at the Idaho State University Center in Boise; Leslie Clement, administrator of the Division of Medicaid at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare in Boise; Dr. Karl Watts, a physician at Genesis Medical Center in Boise; Stephen Weeg, executive director of Health West Inc. in Pocatello; and Gem County Commissioner Michele Sherrer of Emmett.

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