Conversations w/Great Minds - Dr. Peter Beilenson - Are healthcare co-ops coming? P2

In this week's Conversations With Great Minds we'll meet a true pioneer who may well help revolutionize your relationship with our healthcare system. For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds I am joined by Dr. Peter Beilenson. He currently heads up the Health Deparment in Howard County, Maryland where he and his team have launched the Healthy Howard Intiative - a program that joins individuals, businesses, schools, community organizations and government to ceate and make accessible healthy alternatives in many different aspects of daily life for county residents. For 13 years he served as the Health Commissioner of Baltimore City in Maryland where his vision led to expanded drug treatment programs, improved immunization compliance, a wide range of extremely effective lead poisoning prevention initiatives, juvenile violence prevention, and the creation of the state-wide initiative for universal health coverage in Maryland called "Health Care for All" He is also the founder of "The Evergreen Project" - an initiative that was inspired by a provision in the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and seeks to create healthcare co-ops that cut costs to both patients and providers while making sure that excellent health care is avaialble to communities. Dr. Beilenson was chosen as an Utne Reader visionary in 2011 - joining a distinguished list of individuals who - as described by the Editors of the publication - "are world visionaries who don't just concoct great ideas but also act on them."