November 2, 2023
Breaking News from Crain’s NY:
11-2- Gov. Kathy Hochul will launch a new advisory body today to guide state officials on improving New York’s health care system following the governor’s multi-billion dollar health investments in the state budget.
The New York State Commission on the Future of Health Care, which consists of 13 governor-appointed health care experts from New York and across the country, will be tasked with addressing the state’s pressing health care challenges, including financial sustainability, gaps in access to care and health equity. The commission, whose launch was shared first with Crain’s, will have its inaugural meeting Thursday afternoon.
The advisory board will submit formal recommendations to the state each year on health policy, regulations and reimbursement structures. The board’s focus will include devising a plan for struggling hospitals and making adjustments to the Medicaid program, according to the administration.
Hochul launched the commission almost a year after she first announced it. The governor committed to creating the Commission on the Future of Health Care in her State of the State address in January to advise on the administration’s $20 billion, multi-year investment in the health care system.
The governor has since tasked the commission with controlling soaring Medicaid costs in the state. In a September press conference in Albany, Hochul said that the commission was built of national Medicaid experts who could make recommendations about the health program—a top cost driver for the state.
“This is a transitional moment for the health care system,” Hochul said in a statement Thursday. “Patient preferences are shifting, new technologies are emerging, and we are still feeling the ripple effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Hochul added she assembled the commission “to help us build a resilient health care system that leads the nation and delivers every New Yorker the care they deserve.”
Dr. Sherry Glied, dean of the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, will serve as chair of the commission. Glied also served as the assistant secretary for planning and evaluation at the federal Department of Health and Human Services under President Obama.
The advisory board members include Dr. Toyin Ajayi, CEO and co-founder of Cityblock, Dr. Joseph Betancourt, president of the Commonwealth Fund, Robert Connor, senior advisor of the private equity firm Warburg Pincus, Lloyd Dean, former chief executive of CommonSpirit Health, Nancy-Ann DeParle, co-founder and managing partner of Consonance Capital Partners, Dr. Richard Frank, director of the Brookings Schaeffer Initiative on Health Policy, Brett Friedman, health care partner at Ropes & Gray and former New York state Medicaid director, Niyum Gandhi, chief financial officer and treasurer at Mass General Brigham, Dr. Tom Insel, executive chair at Vanna Health, Dr. Ann Kurth, president of the New York Academy of Medicine, Robert Megna, president of the Rockefeller Institute of Government and Pat Wang, CEO of Healthfirst.
The commission will meet bi-monthly and submit formal recommendations to the governor’s office each year. Its first set of recommendations will be due before the end of 2024.