Hill Briefings

• September 13, 2007: Senate briefing co-sponsored by Senator Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Burr (R-NC) to educate Senate staffers on the concept of the Patient Centered Medical Home.
• July 18, 2007: Senate briefing with Dr. Allen Dobson, Director of the North Carolina Medicaid program, presenting on the NC Access program 
• July 18, 2007: House briefing with Dr. Allen Dobson, Director of the North Carolina Medicaid program, presenting on the NC Access program
• June 28, 2007: House briefing with Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Rep. Timothy Murphy (R-Pa) speaking in support of the Medical Home model

Hearings

• Sept. 16, 2008:  The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing entitled “Aligning Incentives: The Case for Delivery System Reform.”  There were a number of witnesses at the hearing including Mark E. Miller of the Medicare Payment Advisory Comission, Robert Berenson of the Urban Institute in Washington DC and Eric G. Campbell of Harvard University's School of Medicine.  Also speaking at the hearing was Glenn Steele, the President and CEO of Geisinger Health System.
• July 23, 2008: The Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing on Person-Centered Care which is care tailored to the specific needs and preferences of the patient. Person-Centered Care must be taken into particular regards with elderly populations to ensure that all individuals have the right to be decision makers in their own health, and that elders are crucially important in the health care of the nation of a whole. Facets of Person-Centered Care include models such as the Green House homes and the Medical Home concept. Melinda Abrams, of the Commonwealth Fund, testified on achieving Person Centered Care through the Patient-Centered Medical Home model. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) charged several of the witness to address how the concept of the medical home can get embedded in health reform efforts as he thinks that it is "... one of the best ways to follow up on this idea of a patient-centered universe in health care." To read through the submitted witness testimonies or to watch the webcast of the entire hearing please check here.
•  May 6, 2008: The Senate Finance Committee held a full committee hearing entitled “Seizing the Opportunity for Health Care Reform.” There were only two witnesses at the hearing were former Secretaries of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala and Tommy Thompson. While the PCMH was not specifically cited by either witness both strongly emphasized that primary care was quickly entering a workforce crises and that the only means of realistically addressing the primary care shortage would be to reform the payment system, particularly in Medicare. Additionally, both witnesses agreed that one of the most promising means of addressing increasing health care expenditures is to establish systems of coordinated care.
• February 12, 2008: The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing on Addressing Healthcare Workforce Issues for the Future. Included in this hearing was a witness testimony from Kevin Grumbach, M.D., Director, UCSF Center for California Health Workforce Studies Professor and Chair UCSF Department of Family and Community Medicine, San Francisco, CA, which we strongly recommend that all PCPCC members take the time to read through. http://help.senate.gov/Hearings/2008_02_12/2008_02_12.html.
• May 10, 2007: The House Ways and Means subcommittee on Health held a hearing on Options to Improve Quality and Efficiency Among Medicare Physicians. This was in large part the introduction for many Congressional members to the concept of the Medical Home. For full testimonies from the witnesses and Chairman Stark's announcement check the following link - http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=detail&hearing=558.