May 23: Should Employers Pay for Health Insurance? Lessons From Other Countries

Oregon’s healthcare costs, like those in other states, are the highest in the world. Oregon’s employers, like those in other states, struggle to keep their workforces healthy and their business costs down. No state has solved this challenge.

Yet other industrialized countries spend half what we do and enjoy healthier populations and workforces. How do they do it? What is unique to the United States that prevents us from finding solutions? What can successful healthcare policies in other countries teach Oregon about providing better care for less money?

Two internationally recognized speakers, moderated by a business leader in Oregon’s healthcare communities, discuss these topics that may allow Oregon’s next steps in healthcare more successful than in our past.

Panelists:

Theodore R. Marmor, PhD is emeritus professor of public policy and management at Yale University School of Management. Dr. Marmor has written and presented extensively on social security, healthcare policy, and healthcare reform since his work during the early days of Medicare as aide to Wilbur Cohen, Under Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Among his many published books is “Politics, Health, and Health Care,” a 2014 collection of essays with Rudolf Klein. Marmor has published over 200 articles in a wide range of scholarly journals, as well as being a frequent op-ed contributor to U.S. and Canadian newspapers. He is currently on the editorial boards of the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis and the Journal of Health, Politics, Policy and Law. He is also a national senior doubles squash champion.

Kieke Okma, PhD is Visiting Professor at Catholic University in Leuven, Belgium and has spoken around the world on international healthcare policy. She has been Senior Policy Advisor to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport in the Netherlands, Advisor to the World Bank on Health Policy, and a participant in other international health policy agencies. She has been published in several languages on healthcare policy and economics. Her 2011 article, “A Dutch Model for Medicare? Sobering Lessons from the Netherlands’ Experience with Competition,” co-authored with her husband Dr. Marmor, appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. Her latest publication is “Health Care Reforms across the World,” published with six co-authors in the latest issues of American Affairs.

Moderator:

Greg Van Pelt is president of the Oregon Healthcare Leadership Council and former CEO of Providence Health and Services Oregon. He served Providence in multiple roles for 38 years, including Chief Executive of Providence Health Plan and Chief Executive of Providence-St. Vincent Medical Center. He is currently a director of St. Charles Health System, the largest healthcare provider in Central Oregon. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Event Details:
7:00am Buffet Breakfast
7:30am – 9:00am Interactive panel discussion and audience questions

Location:
Multnomah Athletic Club (1849 SW Salmon St, Portland, OR 97205)
Parking is free at Multnomah Athletic Club

Interested in sponsoring this breakfast forum? To learn about the benefits of supporting Oregon Health Forum contact Rian Sands at rian@oregonhealthforum.org.