BY THINKTECH HAWAII – We have two hospitals in bankruptcy and playing tag with closing. Everyone knows the neighbor islands are in distress about finding and keeping doctors. Obama Care is going to change things that were once top of the line in Hawaii, and maybe not for the better. At the same time health insurance rates are going up, Health care in Hawaii may not be so healthy anymore.
In the middle of the Pacific, we worry and should worry about the health of our health care system because our personal health is dependent on that industry’s health. Although most people are concerned only about rates and how things go in the doctor’s office, we can’t afford not to know what’s going on in the health care industry in our state.
How can we avoid repetition of the recent hospital bankruptcies? What do the repeated rate hikes at Kaiser and HMSA mean, and will they continue to increase? Can doctors earn acceptable compensation in Hawaii? How can we incentivize them to stay and practice on neighbor islands? Are doctors and hospitals getting a fair shake? Are patients getting a fair shake? Is it possible for hospitals to earn an acceptable profit, and can they provide acceptable care at that profit? What do we need to fix? What will happen if we don’t fix it?
How could technology help? Will tort reform help? What effect does the cost of care have on the standard of care? Why do we have such great longevity – is it because of our health care? Why do we have such a disparity in the availability and quality of care between rich and poor? Are the hospitals absorbing too much of the cost of ER care for the uninsured? How can we ameliorate that? How has this changed the role of the doctor and hospital with the patient? How will changes to Medicare and Medicaid affect our senior citizens?
ThinkTech and the Hawaii Venture Capital Association are going to tackle this subject with two blue-ribbon panels from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 6th.  After a buffet lunch, the first of our two panels will start at noon, and the second will start at 1:00 p.m.  We’ll be pau at 2:00 p.m.
The First Panel (12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.) will cover the Economic Transformation of Health Care in Hawaii, and will be moderated by Ginny Pressler of Hawaii Pacific Health. It will include Coral Andrews of the Health Insurance Exchange; Beth Giesting of the Governor’s Office on Health Care Transformation; Thomas Tsang of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT; and Hank Wuh, physician, surgeon and health care entrepreneur.
The Second Panel (1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.) will cover Current changes in the Delivery of Health Care in Hawaii, and will be moderated by Josh Green, chair of the Senate HealthCommittee.It will include Jerris Hedges, dean of the John A. Burns School of Medicine; Hilton Raethel of HMSA; Nadine Tenn Salle of the Hawaii Independent Physicians Associations; and Art Ushijima, CEO of the Queens Medical Center.
What an incredible cast for this important discussion! Do you care about health in Hawaii, including your own? Then you might want to come down on December 6th, enjoy our luncheon, meet like-minded people, network with ThinkTech and the Hawaii Venture Capital Association, and hear from these great panelists on this critical topic in these critical and foreboding times.
Sign up on hvca.org. We’ll see you there.
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