Senate Health Care Reform Summit now underway -- LIVE VIDEO FEED

UPDATED -- PDF files of ALL Speakers' remarks now online!



Luncheon Speaker -- J. Craig Venter, on the Human Microbiome Project:

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As promised, here is a LIVE VIDEO FEED for the Senate Health Care Summit, scheduled to run until 4:30 pm EDT -- Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernake is speaking now. . . adding much more over the morning, now. NOTE: IF YOU SEE NO LIVE VIDEO FROM AN EARLIER MORNING FEED, SIMPLY MOVE DOWN THE AGENDA, AND CLICK ON THE CURRENT EDT TIME'S SESSION, TO GET A LINK TO A LIVE FEED [at the moment, the current live feed is now Senator John Kerry's Panel Discussion -- "Trends in Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage" -- "Insurance Market Reform" -- Chaired by Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) @ Noon, EDT]:

June 16, 2008 Library of Congress Washington, D.C.
	Agenda 8:30 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. Buffet Breakfast Madison Building, Madison Hall – First Floor 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Gavel and Opening Remarks Max Baucus & Chuck Grassley, Summit Co-Chairs To view this session click here. Madison Building, Mumford Room – Sixth Floor 10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Plenary Session I Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke [PDF Remarks] To view this session click here. Madison Building, Mumford Room – Sixth Floor 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Concurrent Sessions Lessons from International Health Systems Madison Building, Mumford Room – Sixth Floor To view this session click here. Moderator: Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) Featured Guest: • T.R Reid – author, Washington Post Bureau Chief, and FRONTLINE correspondent for the recent documentary “Sick Around the World” Trends in Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage Madison Building, West Dining Room – Sixth Floor To view this session click here. Co-Chairs: Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Senator Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) Featured Guests: • Andy Stern, Service Employees International Union • Carl Redman, Innovation Construction and Bear Electric • Craig Barrett, Intel Corporation • Jonathan Gruber, Massachusetts Institute of Technology • Paul Fronstin, Employee Benefit Research Institute Delivery System Reform - The Need For Transparency, Payment Reform, and Improved Care Coordination Madison Building, Pickford Theater – Third Floor To view this session click here. Co-Chair: Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) Featured Guests: • Debra Ness, National Partnership for Women and Families • Dean Ornish, Preventive Medicine Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco • Jack Cochran, Kaiser Permanente • Kenneth E. Thorpe, Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University Insurance Market Reform Madison Building, Room LM-139 – First Floor To view this session click here. Co-Chairs: Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) Featured Guests: • Stuart Butler, Heritage Foundation • Reed Tuckson, UnitedHealth Group • Janet Trautwein, National Association of Health Underwriters • Karen Pollitz, Georgetown University 12:15 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. Plenary Session II Dr. J. Craig Venter To view this session click here. Madison Building, Mumford Room - Sixth Floor 12:45 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Lunch and Plenary Discussion Dr. J. Craig Venter To view this session click here. Madison Building, Montpelier Room - Sixth Floor 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Concurrent Sessions Approaches to "Bending the Growth Curve" of Health Care Spending To view this session click here. Madison Building, Mumford Room – Sixth Floor Co-Chairs: Senator Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) Featured Guests: • Elliott Fisher, Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice • Peter Orszag, Congressional Budget Office • Scott Serota, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Role of Public Programs in Health Reform To view this session click here. Madison Building, Pickford Theater – Third Floor Co-Chairs: Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) Featured Guests: • Karen Davis, The Commonwealth Fund • Regina Herzlinger, Harvard Business School, Harvard University • Jeanne Lambrew, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin • Mark McClellan, Brookings Institute-AEI (invited) State-Based Reform Efforts To view this session click here. Madison Building, West Dining Room – Sixth Floor Co-Chair: Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) Featured Guests: • Gary Claxton, Health Care Marketplace Project, Kaiser Family Foundation • Jon Kingsdale, Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, Massachusetts • William N. Lindsay, Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform • Len Nichols, Health Policy Program, The New America Foundation Best Practices in the Private Sector To view this session click here. Madison Building, Room LM-139 – First Floor Co-Chairs: Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah) Featured Guests: • Bill Barnes, Intermountain Healthcare • Brian Peters, Michigan Health and Hospital Association • Carla Smith, Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) • Laura L. Adams, Rhode Island Quality Institute 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Plenary Session III Co-Chair Reports from Concurrent Sessions To view this session click here. Jefferson Building, Congressional Members Room - First Floor Moderator: John Inglehart, Founding Editor, Health Affairs 4:30 p.m. Closing and Gavel Senators Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley Jefferson Building, Congressional Members Room - First Floor

“. . . .Our broken health care system is endangering families and sapping this country’s ability to compete economically, and Americans want something done about it. But comprehensive health reform won’t drop out of the clear blue sky -– we have to do some legwork first,” said Senator Max Baucus [D, MT]. “All of us in Congress have a responsibility to learn all we can now, start talking through the sticky issues, and be ready to move when the time comes for real reform. ‘Prepare for Launch’ will bring leaders together now to tackle America’s health care crisis.”

“Policy discussions and debates are fundamental to policy initiatives that achieve broad-based support. I’m glad to support an event that encourages a productive dialogue and gets people focused on ideas and possibilities. Without a doubt, health care matters to every American. This summit is a chance to study the opportunities that exist to improve access and quality in America’s health care system, and to consider what’s involved in making possible reforms,” said Senator Chuck Grassley [R, IA]. . . .