Conference to focus on health care costs

SOUTH PORTLAND – The cost of health care and health insurance in Maine will be the focus of a conference on Oct. 1 sponsored by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the Maine Health Management Coalition.

“Health Care Costs: Maine’s Burning Platform – Can We Extinguish the Fire?” will examine strategies to moderate Maine’s cost of health care and health insurance.

The conference will feature keynote speeches by Dr. Arnie Milstein, medical director of the Pacific Business Group on Health, and Michael Chernew, a professor at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Erik Steele, vice president and chief medical officer of Eastern Maine Health Systems, will open the conference with a presentation on why it is critical that Maine control health care cost increases.

The conference will take place at the University of Southern Maine’s Abromson Community Center. Registration and information are available at www.anthem.com/maine /conference.