Women's Health and Managed Care in California: A Laboratory for the Nation

1997

From April to October of 1997, the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health in Washington, DC teamed up with the Pacific Institute for Women's Health in Los Angeles, CA, to offer a series of four seminars on managed care and women's health in California. The purpose was to raise awareness and disseminate information about managed care policies and practices as they affect health care for women.

The series advanced the level of dialogue on the subject of managed care by bringing together a diverse group of participants and presenters, most of whom are in health care leadership positions in provider, academic, advocacy, and government organizations. The series formed a basis for further collaborations toward the goal of making managed care more responsive to women's needs. Participants attempted to establish the centrality of women and their experiences to the evaluation of managed care by, for example, spotlighting successful health care advocates and researchers who focus on women's access to health care services. The series also presented successful and promising model programs from both the private and public sectors. The focus on providers of reproductive health services was particularly important, given the difficulties women experience obtaining high quality reproductive health services and the reluctance of payers to offer a full range of services.

The discussion revealed that consumer alliances are vital to accomplishing major improvements to the health care system. However, the impetus for change must also come from enlightened payers who recognize the cost savings inherent in preventive services; health care providers who fight for good practice models; researchers who continue documenting patient satisfaction, patient needs, and successful programs, as well as providing tools for monitoring the quality of health care; public health leaders who keep us focused on community interventions and the path to positive, community-wide health outcomes; and policymakers who focus on women's health. The series formed a good beginning for a productive dialogue among individuals from these various groups.

Managed Care: Listening to the Women

April 25, 1997

Los Angeles, CA

Speakers:

Sarah Samuels, DrPH, President, Samuels and Associates, Associate, Pacific Institute for Women's Health

Martha Romans, Executive Director, Jacobs Institute of Women's Health

Helen Rodriguez-Thias, MD, Co-director, Pacific Institute for Women's Health

Bobbie Wunsch, MBA, President, Health Care Consulting and Management Services

Roberta Wyn, PHD, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research

Lark Galloway-Gilliam, MPA, President and Co-founder, California Health Decisions

Carmela Castellano, Founder and former Executive Director, Latino Coalition for a Healthy California

Players in the Marketplace

June 25, 1997

Oakland, CA

Co-sponsor: Women's Health Collaborative

Speakers:

Sarah Samuels, DrPH, President, Samuels and Associates, Associate, Pacific Institute for Women's Health

Martha Romans, Executive Director, Jacobs Institute of Women's Health

Helen Rodriguez-Thias, MD, Co-director, Pacific Institute for Women's Health

Helen H. Schauffler, PhD, MSPH, Associate Professor of Health Policy at the University of California at Berkeley

Catherine Brown, Consultant, Pacific Business Group on Health

Rhoda Nussbaum, MD, Women's Health Leader, Kaiser Permanente

Rosaline Vasquez, MD, Associate Medical Director, CIGNA HealthCare

Gordon Norman, MD, Regional Medical Director, PacifiCare

Medi-Cal Managed Care and Women's Health

September 9, 1997

San Diego, CA

Co-sponsor: Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside Counties

Speakers:

Mary Ellen Hamilton, Vice President of Public Affairs, Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside Counties

Martha Romans, Executive Director, Jacobs Institute of Women's Health

Helen Rodriguez-Thias, MD, Co-Director, Pacific Institute for Women's Health

Carolyn Castillo, California Department of Health Services

John Dunn, Executive Director, Planned Parenthood for Orange and San Bernardino Counties

Yolanda Partida, San Diego County Department of Health Services

Carole Steiner, Director of Health Services, CalOPTIMA

Policy Perspectives

October 9, 1997

Sacramento, CA

Co-sponsor: CEWAER

Speakers:

Sarah Samuels, DrPH, President, Samuels and Associates, Associate, Pacific Institute for Women's Health

Martha Romans, Executive Director, Jacobs Institute of Women's Health

Helen Rodriguez-Thias, MD, Co-director, Pacific Institute for Women's Health

Sylvia Drew Ivie, JD, T.H.E. Clinic, Los Angeles

Margaret Lewis, California Managed Health Care Improvement Task Force

Irene Ibarra, Chief Executive and Operating Officer, Alameda Alliance for Health

Deborah Reidy Kelch, DRK Associates

Kathy Kneer, Chief Executive Officer, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California