Chances for Reform

By Mike Magee, MD

Will this be the season of Health Care Reform? With the economy swirling, and the current approach to health care in the U.S. arguably a deeply embedded complication, is it possible to imagine and implement a fundamentally different approach to care that promotes goodness and fairness, quality, access and choice? And can this be done without cues, waiting lines, and "manage-mania"?

Most agree next steps would require cross-sector cooperation, representation, and early agreement on common values and objectives. To this end CodeBlureNow's energetic executive director, Kathleen O'Connor, has pulled together an important  “Town Hall” meeting in Seattle on Sept. 18th from 7 to 8:30 pm with two former Governors Arne Carlson (R-MN) and Richard Lamm (D-CO), followed by an invitational planning meeting of some key thought leaders and organizations the next day to plan for a spring 2009 “Confluence Conference”  with several opinion leaders and organizations working around what Kathleen calls “Deep Reform.”

The Confluence Conference will be dedicated to refining some of the delivery system, management and financing models that various groups are proposing to see if together they can reach concurrence on a core set of values and templates worthy of bipartisan support. The city is behind the effort with supporters including:

Leadership Tomorrow

Executive Alliance

City Club of Seattle

NW Physician Network

These types of efforts are extraordinarily important, and an early bell-weather to indicate whether or not there is true readiness for "Deep Reform."