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Sebelius: The problem with healthcare cost increases is that they are rising faster than inflation. We pay a lot for health care and many people still don’t get the right care at the right time. The goal of health reform is to slow the growth of cost and make coverage more affordable for consumers. The best way we can do that is to ensure that patients are getting value for their health care dollars.


And we know some things that work to improve patient safety and lower costs. These are the types of steps we are going to take under the Affordable Care Act. For example, the new CMS Innovation Center and quality reforms will tackle problems like hospital readmissions and healthcare acquired illnesses. Helping people heal faster – and to stay well – will lower costs and improve the quality of care patients are receiving.


WOC: Why has it taken so long to broadly implement electronic medical records, which even President Bush used to talk about regularly?


Sebelius: For too long, our healthcare system has con- sidered electronic health records to be too difficult and expensive to adopt, even though most providers agree that they will bring significant benefits: lower costs and reduced medical errors. Many of the obstacles to broad implementation have included the challenges of devel- oping interoperable system that fit healthcare provider needs, training healthcare professionals to use those systems, and managing the transition from paper to electronic records.


For the first time, this administration made a commit- ment to develop and help to finance a system of elec- tronic health records in communities across the country. Through the investments in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we have finally launched a multi-year program. We’re providing grants to states for [a] health information exchange, which will ensure that informa- tion can be shared across provider and hospital networks, while maintaining our strong commitment to patient privacy. We’ve created health IT Regional Extension Cent- ers across the country where providers can go to find out which health record system fits their needs. We’re training thousands of new health IT professionals who can help providers make the switch from paper to digital records. And we’ve developed “meaningful use” regulations that will give providers incentives for adopting and using health information technology. Major insurance compa- nies, provider groups, doctors, hospitals and patients have all committed to support these steps, and I think we are


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poised to see some real changes in the near future that can help improve care quality, prevent medical errors, cut down paperwork, and reduce costs.


WOC: Is the U.S. workforce prepared for healthcare reform? Beyond doctors, are there enough technicians, IT people, and other professionals to staff our emerging healthcare system?


Sebelius: Thanks to the Affordable Care Act and the Re- covery Act efforts are underway to increase the number of nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, dentists and other primary healthcare providers.


The Recovery Act invests $200 million for training and loan repayment grants in support of approximately 12,000 primary care clinicians (7,500 of whom are ex- pected to graduate this year), and provides $300 million to double the size of the National Health Service Corps to more than 6,000 primary care clinicians.


And, under the Affordable Care Act, more support for workforce development will be coming that will allow us to grow the workforce to scale as reform takes hold. In recent weeks, we have announced: $168 million in grants to expand the number of primary care residency slots to produce 500 additional providers by 2015; $32 million in grants to train 600 primary care physician assistants; and $30 million in grants to boost the number of nurse practitioners by 600 clinicians.


We know that expanding the healthcare workforce is a challenge for our country, and these provisions will help ensure that the number of primary care physicians, nurses, physician assistants, behavioral health providers and dentists will increase in the areas of the country that need them most.


And, as I mentioned before, we’re training thousands of health IT professionals to help modernize our medical records system and make it more efficient. Providers will now be able to go to health IT Regional Extension Centers across the country where providers can go to find out which health record system best serves them.


WOC: What can the federal government do to get more blacks and other minorities into healthcare professions?


Sebelius: Minorities now make up nearly a third of the U.S. population; but they account for only about 15 percent of medical students—and percent of practicing


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