A Who's Who of Health Care Experts Convene in Colorado to Discuss Reform

The Colorado Health Foundation presents the 29th annual
Colorado Health Symposium, July 28 – July 30 at Keystone

DENVER – While it's a fact that national health care reform legislation has been enacted, the details of how it will work remain unclear.

The list of questions is long – How should it be implemented? How will it affect consumers, businesses and health care providers? How will programs be paid for and success measured? How can cost-cutting measures be reconciled with quality improvement? Health care leaders and experts will tackle these challenges – and share what's working in our state and around the country – at the 2010 Colorado Health Symposium.

Under the theme of "Value in Health Care: Improving Quality, Controlling Costs," more than 45 experts in health care policy and reform efforts from across the nation will guide discussion, debate ideas and share lessons learned on topics related to healthy living, health coverage and health care quality and integration. This year's symposium will take place July 28 – July 30, 2010 at the Keystone Resort and Conference Center in Dillon, Colo.

"This is a one-of-a-kind event designed to encourage representatives from across the political spectrum and with diverse points of view to come together to strategize about what is and isn't working and what's best for the future of health care," explains Anne Warhover, president and CEO of the Colorado Health Foundation, one of the state's largest endowment funds and a nonprofit focused on improving the health and health care of Coloradans. "Without question, continued innovation in health care reform requires the creative thinking, stamina, resolve, education and ongoing, bipartisan discussions that events such as the Colorado Health Symposium can provide."

To increase outreach for the sold-out symposium, the Colorado Health Foundation is providing numerous social media opportunities for following the dialogue:

• Daily blogs and news summaries will be available online, and people can sign up to receive e-mail updates about the event
• Morning presentations will be streamed live on Ustream.tv
• Short video interviews will be posted to YouTube throughout the conference
• Facebook fans and Twitter followers (#10CHS) of the Colorado Health Foundation can track real-time commentary on the symposium

The topics that will be highlighted at the Colorado Health Symposium include:

• Prevention: A cure for what ails American health care?
• It's broken – now how do we fix it?
• Do you get what you pay for?
• Colorado health care roundup – an overview with breakout sessions highlighting Colorado-based case studies

Presenters will represent a variety of political views and stakeholders in health care reform. Among the organizations participating will be the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, The Heritage Foundation, the American Hospital Association, Target Corporation, AARP, business associations, university scholars, insurance companies, health care providers and nonprofits focused on health care.

On July 29, the evening will include the 2010 John Iglehart Award presentation, given annually to a Coloradan whose wisdom, commitment and leadership in health policy have made a significant contribution to the Colorado Health Foundation's vision for Colorado to be the healthiest state in the nation. Symposium attendees will also be treated to a dramatic one-woman show that relates real conversations about Americans' experiences with disease, death and the health care system in the play, "Let Me Down Easy."

View the complete agenda, daily schedule and list of speakers on the symposium website.

About the Colorado Health Foundation
The Colorado Health Foundation works to make Colorado the healthiest state in the nation by increasing the number of Coloradans with health insurance, ensuring they have access to quality, coordinated care and encouraging healthy living. The Foundation invests in the community through grants and initiatives to health-related nonprofits that focus on these goals, as well as operating medical education programs to increase the health care workforce. The Foundation's assets of more than $900 million include an investment portfolio as well as an ownership interest in Denver's HealthONE hospital system. For more information, please visit www.ColoradoHealth.org.