Health Reform’s Time Has Come

Posted on | September 3, 2008 | Comments Off on Health Reform’s Time Has Come

Commonwealth survey says chances for true reform are goodWhen it comes to reforming the U.S. healthcare system, we have a history of all talk, no action. Mostly, patients have been ambivalent about change, while many health care professionals have opposed it because they see the risks (including those to their pocketbooks) far exceeding the benefits.

Will it be any different this time around? Both presidential candidates say it will. So does this summer’s Commonwealth Survey on the subject. According to Commonwealth’s president, Karen Davis, Commonwealth polled 1,004 U.S. adults in May, 2008. Thirty two percent said the whole system needed complete rebuilding, while one half thought it required fundamental change.

Cost is certainly a factor, with health premiums up 100 percent in the past decade. And people are also concerned about recent drops in the numbers of employers providing health benefits, and in the quality of the coverage they provide.

Beyond that, people are concerned about the system itself – the rushing, the crowding, the unevenness, the antiquated information systems, the complexity and associated safety lapses and injuries, the workforce shortages, and the absence of a comprehensive vision that would allow Americans to reach for their full human potential as productive and compassionate citizens.

If we are able to achieve meaningful reform during the next Administration, it will be because we have embraced a meaningful opportunity to surpass — rather than mimic — another health system, such as Canada’s. It will be because we have appreciated the unique opportunity presented by the intersection of aging demographics, multi-generational family complexity, health consumer empowerment and engagement, and information technology advantages that allow us to re-center and reconnect our system with great efficiency, equity, safety, and quality.

Will it happen this time? Depends on the strength of the vision, which depends on the quality of the leadership. "Yes, but…" is our history. "Yes, and…" is our future.

For more details, please watch this week’s video, embedded with this blog post, or read the full transcript, below. Then leave a comment expressing your feelings about health care reform. Do you think we can get it done? Why or why not?