The Center for Medicare Advocacy gratefully acknowledges the generosity of The Commonwealth Fund, an independent foundation working toward health policy reform and a high performance health system, in support of this conference.

The Commonwealth Fund (www.commonwealthfund.org), among the first private foundations started by a woman philanthropist — Anna M. Harkness — was established in 1918 with the broad charge to enhance the common good.

The mission of The Commonwealth Fund is to promote a high performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, including low-income people, the uninsured, minority Americans, young children, and elderly adults.

The Fund carries out this mandate by supporting independent research on health care issues and making grants to improve health care practice and policy. An international program in health policy is designed to stimulate innovative policies and practices in the United States and other industrialized countries.