West Health Policy Center Bolsters Commitment to Lowering Healthcare Costs

SAN DIEGO and WASHINGTON, Sept. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- West Health, a family of nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations focused on healthcare research, policy and philanthropy, has appointed Cristina Boccuti, MA, MPP, formerly of the Kaiser Family Foundation, as director of health policy at the Gary and Mary West Health Policy Center(WHPC), bolstering its commitment to lowering healthcare costs in America and enabling successful aging for our nation's seniors.

While $3.3 trillion or 17.9 percent of the Gross Domestic Product was spent on healthcare in the U.S. in 2016, a recent survey from the West Health Institute and NORC at the University of Chicago showed that three-quarters of Americans do not think we get a good value for healthcare spending and 40 percent skipped recommended medical care because of costs. With 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every day and healthcare costs consuming an unaffordable portion of household expenses for many seniors, West Health is focused on addressing the cost of care for older adults and all Americans.

"Cristina is a valuable addition to our team who will help lead West Health's efforts to support and promote value-based policies and programs that can meaningfully impact the cost of healthcare," said Tim Lash, president of the WHPC and chief strategy officer of West Health. "The upward trajectory of healthcare costs is a crisis in this country and West Health is committed to ensuring our healthcare system provides value to both the patient and payer to lower outrageous healthcare costs."

Boccuti was associate director of the Kaiser Family Foundation's program on Medicare policy where she analyzed Medicare reform proposals. Prior to joining the Kaiser Family Foundation, Boccuti was a principal policy analyst with the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and the director of policy coordination for the Bureau of Health Professions at the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services focused on improving access to care for underserved populations. She has also held positions at the Urban Institute and the Government Accountability Office.

West Health's policy efforts in healthcare costs are focused on lowering prescription drug pricing by allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical manufacturers, improving the transparency of healthcare pricing and accelerating the adoption of value-based payment models. In 2018, West Health hosted the Healthcare Costs Innovation Summit, focused on advancing solutions to America's healthcare cost crisis and is planning on hosting the 2019 Healthcare Costs Innovation Summit in Washington D.C. on April 2, 2019.

About West Health and the West Health Policy Center
Solely funded by philanthropists Gary and Mary West, West Health is a family of nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations including the Gary and Mary West Health Institute and Gary and Mary West Foundation in San Diego, and the Gary and Mary West Health Policy Center in Washington, D.C. West Health is dedicated to lowering healthcare costs and enabling seniors to successfully age in place with access to high-quality, affordable health and support services that preserve and protect their dignity, quality of life and independence. Learn more at westhealth.org and follow @westhealth.

SOURCE West Health

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