Tennessee state Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, has been chosen as chairman of the Council of State Governments’ Healthy States National Task Force, a news release states.
Co-chairman of the task force will be Delaware state Sen. Bryan Townsend, D-Newark.
The task force “will bring together a diverse group of state policymakers to explore ways states can best meet the challenges presented by the current health care system and leverage the revolutionary changes occurring in the health sector,” Council of State Governments Executive Director David Adkins said.
The task force will work over a two-year timeline surveying best practices and innovative state initiatives during planned task force meetings, some of which will be held at the annual CSG national conferences. Watson said there are four subcommittees: Capacity, Preparedness and Resiliency; What’s Next? Leveraging Innovation; State Health Systems Return on Investment; and Interventions to Save Lives.
The task force will explore policy options for states to drive innovations in the health sector; examine and promote best practices for reducing costs and increasing efficiencies in state health programs while maintaining quality of care; examine case studies and review recent state responses to health crises, including ways to prevent and/or reduce the impact of crisis through preventive care; and explore innovative state preventive health programs that are having a positive impact on state budgets and making a difference for patients, according to the release.
“Healthcare is one of the most important issues facing states today,” Watson said. “States are laboratories of innovation and this is an opportunity to share best practices and hear from top experts regarding the newest technologies which can effect change occurring in the ever-evolving healthcare industries today. I look forward to this new challenge and to working with legislators from across the nation to improve patient care.”
Watson is chairman of the Tennessee Senate’s Finance, Ways and Means Committee and a licensed physical therapist.