~ Task force created in 2007 legislation; goal to reduce health care costs 20 percent by 2011 ~

Governor Pawlenty today appointed 13 members to the newly created Health Care Transformation Task Force that is charged with developing an action plan to transform Minnesota’s health care system.

The task force was created as part of the 2007 Omnibus Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill that was signed by Governor Pawlenty in May. The action plan created by the task force will include strategies to reduce health care costs 20 percent by 2011.

“The current health care system is broken and unsustainable,” Governor Pawlenty said. “Progress in this area requires more than just reform – we need bold action to redesign the system. This bipartisan group of experts will identify strategies to further change the way we purchase health care.”

Based on the legislation, the task force will develop “a statewide action plan for transforming the health care system to improve affordability, quality, access, and the health status of Minnesotans.” The report will be presented to the Governor and the legislature by February 1, 2008 and may contain recommended legislative and administrative actions, as well actions of individuals and individual organizations.

The action plan must include the following, with specific and measurable goals and deadlines for each:

• Actions that will reduce health care expenditures by 20 percent by January 2011, and limit the rate of growth in health care spending to no greater than the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers plus two percentage points each year thereafter.
• Actions that will increase the affordable health coverage options for all Minnesotans and other strategies that will ensure all Minnesotans will have health coverage by January 2011.
• Actions to improve the quality and safety of health care and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in access and quality.
• Actions that will improve the health status of Minnesotans and reduce the rate of preventable chronic illness.
• Proposed changes to state health care purchasing and payment strategies that will promote higher quality lower cost health care.
• Actions that will promote the appropriate and cost-effective investment in new facilities, technologies, and drugs.
• Options for serving small employers and their employees, and self-employed individuals.
• Actions to reduce administrative costs.

The task force consists of 13 members appointed the Governor and four state legislators. It will be co-chaired by Rep. Tom Huntley (DFL-Duluth) and Human Services Commissioner Cal Ludeman who also serves as the chair of Governor Pawlenty’s Health Cabinet.

In addition to Commissioner Ludeman, the Governor’s appointees to the task force are:

• Pete Benner, Special Assistant to the Director, AFSCME – Mr. Benner has also served as the Executive Director of the Minnesota State Employee Union, AFCME Council 6, which represents 24,000 State employees.
• Charlie Fazio, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President, Medica - Dr. Fazio is responsible for the effectiveness of the clinical quality, disease management and population health programs at Medica. He joined Medica with 20 years of experience in clinical and administrative medicine, including his most recent experience was with the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI) in Bloomington, Minnesota.
• Tom Forsythe, Vice President, Corporate Communications, General Mills Inc. – Mr. Forsythe is responsible for corporate communications, public relations, employee communications, consumer services, corporate brand management, crisis communications, and issues management. He is also the company’s point person on health care policy issues, including the activities of the Better Health Care Together coalition and the Coalition to Advance Healthcare Reform nationally.
• Michael Howe, President and CEO, Minute Clinic – Mr. Howe joined the Minneapolis-based company in 2005. He was previously president and CEO of Arby’s Inc., following his experience with Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo and Unilever.
• Sean Kershaw, Citizens League – Mr. Kershaw became just the sixth Citizens League president in its 50-plus-year-history. He previously served as Deputy Director for the City of Saint Paul's Department of Planning and Economic Development. Sean has a BA in Sociology from Haverford College.
• Paula Klinger, President, Hopkins Education Association, Hopkins Public Schools – Ms. Klinger has taught German and English in Hopkins's Schools since 1968. She is currently on special assignment as the president of the Hopkins's Education Association, a position she has held since 2000. She has served on district's insurance committee, which is charged with the management of the self-insured program in Hopkins ISO 270.
• Charles Montreuil, Vice President, Corporate Human Resources, Carlson Companies - Montreuil is a graduate of St. Cloud State University, Montreuil received his law degree from William Mitchell College of Law in 1984. Montreuil is an officer of the Buyers Health Care Action Group, a Minneapolis-based employer-owned and governed health care purchasing coalition, and he belongs to the advisory councils for American Express Retirement Services and Eli Lilly, the Medical Alley Task Force for Building a Town Hall for Healthcare Decision Making, and the Minnesota State Bar Association Employee Benefits and Health Law Sections.
• Maureen Reed, M.D. F.A.C.P – Dr. Reed graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School, where she also completed her residency in internal medicine. She serves as a diplomate in internal medicine with the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr. Reed is a former medical director for Health Partners health plan. In 1997, Dr. Reed was elected as a regent of the University of Minnesota and served as chair from 2001 - 2003.
• David Wessner, President and Chief Executive Officer, Park Nicollet Health Services – Mr. Wessner joined Park Nicollet in 1994 and was named Chief Executive Officer in July 1998. He received his MHA from Duke University in 1977, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois in 1973.
• R. Scott Wright, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Cardiology, Mayo Clinic – Dr. Wright’s research interests have focused on treating patients with Acute Coronary syndromes and the role of intensive lipid lowering therapy. He has published over one hundred articles, book chapters and numerous abstracts on the topic. Dr Wright has significant experience in health care policy, including serving on two ad hoc Advisory Task Forces on Health Care reform for Members of Congress. In addition, Dr. Wright has been named the Senior Health Care Policy Fellow for the Center of the American Experiment, a Minneapolis-based Think Tank.
• Tony Miller, Managing Partner, Lemhi Ventures – Mr. Miller manages venture capital fund Lemhi Ventures, which invests in health care services companies. Mr. Miller is the former CEO of Definity Health Corp.
• Carolyn Jones, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Governor Pawlenty – Ms. Jones advises the Governor on health, human services, commerce and employee relations issues. She previously served as the Director of Health, Transportation and Small Business Policy for the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. Jones has a Masters Degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University and a Bachelors of Arts degree from Cornell University.

The 2007 legislative session produced other health care reform action:

• Governor Pawlenty proposed and the legislature adopted an effort to create a uniform electronic billing and coding system that will make Minnesota the first state in the nation to use a single electronic method for all claims and eligibility transactions, significantly reducing health care administrative costs. Paper claims and eligibility transactions can no longer be submitted in Minnesota after January 15, 2009.
• The Governor proposed a continued investment in E-Health initiatives to move Minnesota toward an interoperable electronic medical record system, ensuring that the health care industry is better able to provide care that is safer, more coordinated, more efficient, and less expensive. Minnesota will require that all hospitals and health care providers implement interoperable electronic health records by January 1, 2015. The Governor signed a bill to provide $14 million to help small rural health care providers and community clinics meet that goal.
• The Governor proposed and the legislature agreed to update Minnesota privacy statutes to protect the privacy of citizens in the new age of electronic records.