Hearing of the Senate Committe on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions - To Examine How Innovations Developed in Howard County Can Strengthen the Nation's Health Care System

Hearing of the Senate Committe on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
- To Examine How Innovations Developed in Howard County Can Strengthen the Nation's Health Care System

Mikulski Presides Over Official Senate Field Hearing on How Innovations in Howard County Can Strengthen Nation's Health System

Hearing kicks-off Senator Mikulski's "Maryland Innovation Tour"

U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), a senior member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and Chairwoman of its Subcommittee on Retirement and Aging, today presided over an official Senate field hearing held at Howard Community College to examine how innovations developed in Howard County can strengthen the nation's health care system.

Howard County's health care program, Healthy Howard Access Plan, is a model of innovation in health care. Healthy Howard uses the latest technology to help residents enroll into existing programs for which they are eligible. The program also provides comprehensive health services to improve the health and wellness of its participants. Since its inception in October, the program has helped nearly 1,800 people.

Participants in the hearing, "Healthy Howard: Improving Care Through Innovation," included U.S. Representative John Sarbanes; Howard County Executive Ken Ulman; Howard County Health Officer Peter Beilenson, M.D., M.P.H.; Frances Tucci-Farley and Van Lynn Wensil, two Howard County residents who have benefitted from the program; and Claudia Page, Director of One-e-App. The hearing explored the successes of the Healthy Howard program, with an emphasis on how it can shape thinking for national health care reform efforts.

Sen. Mikulski was tapped by HELP Committee Chairman Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) to lead a Senate work group on improving health care quality in America as part of a comprehensive effort to strengthen America's health care system. Tuesday's hearing kicks off Senator Mikulski's "Innovation Tour," a series of hearings and events Senator Mikulski will hold in the coming months to explore how innovation at the local level can be used to guide public policy at the national level.

Senator Mikulski's opening statement follows:

Welcome to an official field hearing of the United States Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee. I've made this an official Committee hearing because Howard County's Healthy Howard Program provides important lessons for Congress about how initiative and innovation can improve the nation's health care system.

Today's hearing is the first in a series of events I call my "Maryland Innovation Tour." I plan to host hearings and events over the next few months that highlight innovative thinking in Maryland so we can take it to the national level and incorporate it into decisions being made in Washington to help families, communities and the economy.

If America is going to be more competitive, we must focus on funding and policies to develop new ideas and technologies that lead to new products and industries that create new jobs, save lives and save money. Improving nation's health care is only one part of the equation, but is vitally important to the health of our communities and the competitiveness of our economy.

Today the Committee will focus on the initiative and innovation shown right here in Howard County. There is no question that your efforts have had a meaningful impact to improve the health of the community. I want the Committee to learn from Healthy Howard's success from the patient's perspective -- How has this program helped you and your family? How will it improve your health, your peace of mind, and your quality of life?

From the policy and administration perspective, I would like to find out -- What should Congress know about Healthy Howard? What can we learn from your program? How should the Committee use this information to work with President Obama to develop health care legislation that not only provides Americans with affordable health care, but provides Americans with care that improves their health?

Today's participants will help us answer these questions. United States Representative John Sarbanes, who represents Howard County, is here with us today. Rep. Sarbanes recently was appointed to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. He will be working on national health reform legislation and shares the same interest in learning from your experience.

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, the leader behind Healthy Howard Program who made this program a reality, also is with us today. Howard County Health Officer Dr. Peter Beilenson, whose passion and energy translated the program's innovation into successful health care, also is joining us.

I'm also pleased to welcome Frances Tucci-Farley and Van Lynn Wensil, two patients helped by Healthy Howard. I very much appreciate you taking time from work to be with us today. Your stories are ones I will share with my colleagues to keep the urgency behind health care reform and to make sure that reform works for patients, not just policy wonks.

Finally, welcome to Claudia Page, a software developer with One-e-App based in California. She's been working with Howard County and others to develop the software that facilitates enrollment of people into existing programs.

Before we begin, I'd like to extend a special thank you to Howard Community College for hosting the Committee. I know it's not always easy to pull an event like this together. I want to thank everyone for letting us use their space, for taking the time to set it up, and for helping to make today's hearing a success.

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