HHS and CMS have launched a healthcare advisory committee to help strengthen and modernize U.S. healthcare.
The committee, which comprises 18 members, will advise both HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, on how to best finance and deliver care across Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and the Health Insurance Marketplace. Members were selected through a review process of more than 400 nominations, according to a news release.
“This administration is bringing leaders together to tackle the challenges facing American patients and the health care system, putting prevention front and center,” said Mr. Kennedy. “This committee will help us shift from a sick care system to a true healthcare system by delivering practical solutions that drive real change.”
The committee will offer nonbinding recommendations to help shape U.S. federal healthcare policy and program administration. Its agenda will center around chronic disease prevention, improved patient safety and outcomes, and cutting administrative burden.
The members will help expand real-time data usage to improve care quality and streamline claims processing, and improve quality measurements. They will also work to strengthen vulnerable population care, including Medicaid recipients, and strengthen Medicare Advantage sustainability, particularly quality measurements and risk adjustment, according to the release.
Committee members will serve two-year terms and meet regularly throughout the year in open public sessions. The committee is authorized under the Public Health Service Act and runs in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Its first meeting is expected later this year.
“These members bring deep expertise across care delivery, financing, innovation and patient engagement,” Dr. Oz said. “Their insights will help us advance higher-quality care, reduce administrative burden and strengthen the sustainability of our programs, while supporting efforts to transform our healthcare system and restore a stronger focus on patients.”
Some of the committee members include major health system leaders, such as Bill Gassen, president and CEO of Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health; Dennis Laraway, executive vice president and CFO of Cleveland Clinic; and Dan Lijenquist, chief strategy officer of Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health. Andrew Lynch, PhD, chief strategy officer for Franklin, Tenn.-based Acadia Healthcare, a behavioral health provider is also a member.
Kimberly Brandt, CMS deputy administrator and COO, and CMS Chief of Staff Stephanie Charlton are listed as ex officio members for the committee.
The other committee members are:
- Robert Bessler, MD
- Sebastian Caliri
- David Carmouche, MD
- Elizabeth Fago
- Clive Fields, MD
- Jenni Gudapati, PhD
- Valerie Huhn
- Ursel McElroy
- Kyu Rhee, MD
- Tony Robbins
- Russ Thomas
- Linda Thomas-Hemak, MD
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