What We Need Is Health Care Reform

The problem may be that the candidates don’t know any synonyms for the word, reform. To help them along, may I suggest a few? Improvement; reorganization; restructuring; transformation; modification; restructuring; alteration; change. The system is broken, folks, and needs all of those things.

Obama’s health care package promises a lot but gives few particulars No matter which side of the line they stand on, observers say that the proposal does not give enough time to generate that much money, that much savings. The number being thrown around is $2500 per family cost saving. Even the basis of this figure is in contention.

When they say that cost saving for health care coverage by employers would be passed along to employees in the form of higher wages, they lose me. Bonuses at the top maybe. But just saving money is not the point. The health care system in the US is fractured, broken. Only a view that sees that and is willing to take on the insurers, the doctors, and even the users will make an impact.

“The problems of our failing health care system cannot be solved by cost containment alone. Until policy makers understand the importance of universal health care coverage and comprehensive disease prevention services, we will be on the bottom of the global scorecards like the one created by the Commonwealth Fund.” http://www.ilcusa.org/pages/projects/world-cities-project.php

And on it goes. “Even more troubling, the U.S. health system is on the wrong track. Overall, performance has not improved since the first National Scorecard was issued in 2006. Of greatest concern, access to health care has significantly declined. As of 2007, more than 75 million adults—42 percent of all adults ages 19 to 64—were either uninsured during the year or underinsured, up from 35 percent in 2003. At the same time, the U.S. failed to keep pace with gains in health outcomes achieved by the leading countries. The U.S. now ranks last out of 19 countries on a measure of mortality amenable to medical care, falling from 15th as other countries raised the bar on performance. Up to 101,000 fewer people would die prematurely if the U.S. could achieve leading, benchmark country rates.”
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=692682

Obviously, we are not getting our money’s worth. How can we get the candidates attention? How can we make them to look closely at the system—not just scan what has been done and shrink a few figures? Reform; improvement; alteration; restructuring; transformation; change.

“The problems of our failing health care system cannot be solved by cost containment alone. Until policy makers understand the importance of universal health care coverage and comprehensive disease prevention services, we will be on the bottom of the global scorecards like the one created by the Commonwealth Fund.” http://www.ilcusa.org/pages/projects/world-cities-project.php

by Kae Hentges