USofCare’s 2nd Annual Convening — A Better Future: Building a Health Care System for All

The gathering will feature top health care leaders and activists; unveil new initiatives designed to create people-centered evidence-based health policy.

Washington, D.C. — United States of Care (USofCare) is hosting its second annual convening — A Better Future: Building a Health Care System for All — in Washington, D.C. at Almas Temple on Tuesday, November 19. The Convening, made possible in part through a partnership with the California Health Foundation, will bring together everyday people, experts, policymakers, advocates, and patients to highlight today’s most pressing health care challenges; discuss innovative approaches at the state-level that are driving real change; and launch two new initiatives that will help us understand the true needs of real people, and provide policymakers with the tools they need to craft better health policy, helping us get closer to creating a United States of Care.

Event highlights include:

The debut of two signature initiatives — Building Blocks of Health Reform and Real People. Real Talk. — to create durable, people-centered, evidence-based policy.

• The Building Blocks of Health Reform is a new policy initiative to address the key questions that arise when tackling the issues of expanding access to care and improving our health care system.  Building Blocks’ tools and resources will help people and policymakers identify and solve key policy questions that emerge in any approach to health care reform, such as how to pay providers and the types of benefits included for consumers.  
• Real People. Real Talk. will center health reform on the needs of people. By authentically listening to people and understanding how they talk and experience the health care system, USofCare will work with policymakers in crafting solutions that are grounded in, and responsive to, the needs of people. Core to this work is amplifying these needs with partners and empowering people to be a part of setting a positive vision for health reform. Earlier this week, USofCare introduced a core ingredient of Real People. Real Talk. — Voices of Real Life —  which is comprised of 17 members who will guide and advise USofCare’s work to craft responsive, people-centered health policy. 

Featured speakers:

• State Sen. Michelle Benson, Chair, Minnesota Senate Committee on Health and Human Services Finance and Policy
• Lauren Driscoll, Founder, Project Well; Entrepreneurs Council, United States of Care
• Lisa Fitzpatrick, M.D., MPH, MPA, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Grapevine Health; Voices of Real Life, United States of Care 
• Rebekah Gee, M.D., Secretary, Louisiana Department of Health
• Kevin Lembo, Connecticut State Comptroller
• Bhavna Mehta, Artist; Voices of Real Life, United States of Care 
• Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D,  Founding Director and Professor, Duke Margolis Center for  Health Policy, former Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, former Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration
• Andy Slavitt, Founder and Board Chair of USofCare; former Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• Greg Williams, Co-Founder, The Alliance for Addiction Payment Reform
• Amy Webb, Author, Little Miggy Stayed Home; When Charley Met Emma; Voices of Real Life, United States of Care 

Live Streaming and interactive Q and A:

To accommodate individuals who are interested in attending, but unable to join in person, the  event will be live-streamed, and remote participants will have the opportunity to participate in by submitting questions via text. Join the convening live stream.