AcademyHealth and Upcoming Policy Discussions

December 19, 2008. As many of you know, I have been elected to serve on the AcademyHealth's Board of Directors for 2009. I attended my first board meeting last week and am excited at the prospect of working with such a focused and dedicated group of board members and staff. John Colmers, the Maryland Secretary of Health and Hygiene, is the incoming Board Chair and I look forward to working again with John - he has been a great advocate for the states over the years. Here is a link to the list of 2009 Board members. I am honored to be part of this group!

These are exciting times for AcademyHealth with health reform once again on the national agenda. David Helms, President and CEO, and his staff of AcademyHealth will play an important role in promoting the interaction between health services research and health policy. The first opportunity to see this in action will be the AcademyHealth's National Health Policy Conference, to be held February 2-3, 2009 in Washington DC. This should be a good conference to hear about research, policy and politics and learn about what to look for in the Obama administration and, maybe more importantly, WHEN?!

AcademyHealth's State Health Research and Policy (SHRP) Interest Group is also hosting a breakfast session at the National Health Policy Conference. The topic is timely: "Breaking New Ground: State Cost Containment Strategies that Improve Quality and Expand Access." Can states really recoup the cost savings in the delivery system for future access expansions? Thanks to the leadership of the Interest Group Chair: Joel Cantor, Director of the Center for State Health Policy and Professor, Department of Public Policy at Rutgers, and AcademyHealth's VP Enrique Martinez-Vidal. It should be a great meeting! There is no fee to attend – you just need to get up early! Please register via email at shrp@academyhealth.org.

Lynn A. Blewett, Ph.D.