Three UNMC faculty members — Dennis Goeschel, M.D., Keith Mueller, Ph.D., and Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc. — will serve on a new Health Care Reform Commission, announced Wednesday at UNMC by U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE).
The purpose of the 15-member commission is to review the current state of health care and present recommendations to develop a sustainable, accessible, affordable and quality health care system for the 21st century. The commission brings together key professionals and leaders from the health care fields.
“I hear about health care issues from Nebraskans every day,” Sen. Hagel said. “It is an issue that touches the lives of every American. As medical technologies advance and our population ages, health care will become increasingly important to maintaining America’s competitive position in the world. The Commission’s work will help develop new ideas to meet America’s health care needs in the 21st century.”
Chuck Marr, founding CEO of Alegent Health in Omaha, will serve as the commission’s chairman. “Having accessible, affordable and quality health care is the desire of every American,” Sen. Hagel said.
“The task of the Health Care Reform Commission is to evaluate our current health care system and recommend new approaches, which will assure a sustainable health care system for every family. We look forward to working with Sen. Hagel in this important and far-reaching work,” Marr said.
The commission will focus on all facets of health care, including health care costs and access to reliable health care. The commission will have one year to produce a written report about the current state of health care and present recommendations to Sen. Hagel.
The final report of recommendations will define the challenges facing the U.S. health care system, and recommend legislative initiatives that need to be made at the federal level to accomplish this mandate. The commission will focus on the following areas:
- Improvement of health care quality and delivery in America.
- Containment of health care costs.
- Role medical science and technology will continue to have in health care reform.
- Improvement of access to health care for all Americans.
- Exploring more effective financing vehicles for American health care than current public and private plans.
- Addressing the “baby boom” demographic and its impact on future health care costs and services.
Snapshots of commission members from UNMC
Dennis Goeschel, M.D., is vice-chairman of the UNMC Department of Family Medicine. Dr. Goeschel earned his medical degree at UNMC and completed his residency in family practice at UNMC. Following his residency, he went into private practice in Scottsbluff County, Neb., and served the medical committee of Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff for 12 years. Dr. Goeschel is a member of the National Board of Medical Examiners, the American Board of Family Practice and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Keith Mueller, Ph.D., is a professor and the director of the Nebraska Center for Rural Health Research at UNMC. Dr. Mueller also is the director of the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis. He has served as president of the National Rural Health Association and as a member of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services. Dr. Mueller currently serves on the Advisory Panel on Medicare Education for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Virginia Tilden, D.N.Sc., is dean and professor at the UNMC College of Nursing. Dr. Tilden has held academic appointments at the University of California at San Francisco, the University of San Francisco and the Oregon Health & Science University prior to joining UNMC. In addition, Dr. Tilden is nationally recognized for her long-standing work in improving end-of-life care. She has been principal investigator or co-investigator of more than 20 nationally-funded studies addressing the patient and family’s experience at end-of-life in a full array of settings where Americans die.
Also on the commission are:
- Dr. Todd Sorensen, Regional West Medical Center;
- Jack Vetter, Vetter Health Services, Inc.;
- Mike DeFreece, MarketSphere Consulting, LLC;
- Dr. Daniel Wilson, Creighton University Medical Center;
- Dr. Mary Lee Fitzsimmons, Iowa/Nebraska Primary Care Association;
- Dr. J. Chris Bradberry, Creighton University Medical Center;
- Steve Martin, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Nebraska;
- Lisa Lechowicz, HDM Corporation;
- Dr. Bill Bush, retired from Private Practice of Anesthesiology;
- Jim Berarducci, Kurt Salmon Associates, Inc.; and
- Dr. Charles Gregorius, Associated Anesthesiologists.