The Collaboration Health Care Elevator Speech

I’ve been asked many times over the years for the “elevator speech” for Collaboration Health Care. Honestly, I’ve sometimes been at a loss to respond because when I say, “I want to change the way the general population “thinks” about health care,” nobody cares.

Despite the different types of projects we have been involved in over the years, they seem to still boil down to the same thing- we’re still trying to change the way all of the stakeholders look at and think about health care. But still, nobody seems to look at it that way.

It’s still all about ROI, production, diagnosis, measurement, and all of the “transactional” aspects now involved with health care. It’s all about regulations and bureaucracy and following an established set of rules and processes as opposed to looking at the world a little different and trying to have a basic understanding of why all of this is necessary in the first place.

Don’t get me wrong. Measurement and accountability is important. We’re just now going to the extreme and don’t seem to be solving the problem.

Solving our health care cost crisis is not going to be solved in a partisan manner. The Affordable Care Act was a very partisan piece of legislation and needs to be modified. Repealing it is not the answer either. We need to have a basic framework in place we can all work from. We aren’t working from it together today.

And, most of the general population is confused. We’re more knowledgeable than we were before all of this health care talk started- but we’ve been informed from very partisan sources. We really don’t know who to believe.

Despite much of the population still indicating they are relatively satisfied with the way things are, there is a very rapidly growing segment saying they aren’t. More are feeling the affects the rising health care costs are having on their personal finances. And, it’s only going to get worse if something doesn’t change- and change fast.

Our health care costs eat up a substantial portion of our national budget and are a key component of our national debt. The “unfunded” liability (what isn’t paid for) for Medicare over the next several decades will reach $46 trillion. Health care costs have the real potential to be the final straw to bring down our economic foundation if they are not addressed.

So, I suppose the elevator speech should be changed; “Helping stakeholders change the way they think about health care” doesn’t seem to matter much to anyone.

How about, " Protecting our national and personal economic future by changing the way stakeholders think about and interact with the health care system- through education, information, partnerships, and dialogue.”?

It’s a little long, but maybe more folks will get it.

Newt's Comment Is Right- But He Got Creamed For Saying It

Newt Gingrich has been a guest on Meet the Press thirty-five times. He’s covered a lot of territory on the show over the years. During his visit on May 15th, host David Gregory asked Newt his opinion of Paul Ryan’s approach to address the budget deficit and ultimately addressing the unsustainable costs of Medicare. He replied, “I don’t think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering.”

His defection from the party-line quickly reverberated throughout the conservative ranks raising a huge obstacle to his chances of becoming the Republican nomination to challenge President Obama in the 2012 presidential elections.

Despite speaking the truth, and despite being accurate in his assessment- his thirty-fifth visit cost him a lot. The reaction he received from the Republicans illustrated how far apart we are as a country to address the challenges we are facing. Unfortunately, we are being guided by the far-right or far-left politics when the real solutions are somewhere in between.

In the meantime, our health care costs continue to rise. Price Waterhouse Coopers released a new assessment of the medical cost trends for 2012 (Behind the Numbers; Medical Cost Trends for 2012). While medical cost trends increased 7.5% in 2010, they are projected to increase 8% in 2011, and 8.5% in 2012. As the economy struggles along at 2-3% growth (or less) we just continue to lose ground. Any possibilities for relief through initiatives included in the Affordable Care Act will not be felt for several more years- if at all.

The PWC assessment commented, “An interesting blend of reactions to the recession, the slow recovery, health reform, and other variables will affect the medical cost trend in 2012.” The problem is only going to get deeper the longer we wait to take real action beyond the party-lines of the politics and special interests.

Quite simply, the philosophies of the free-market purists will not solve this problem. The theories of the government-control liberals will not solve it either. We need a rational collaboration of both public and private initiatives to eliminate the waste, reduce the inefficiencies, and develop a solution that makes sense for the country.

We need to be able to talk about some of the solutions that are not necessarily “right” or “left.”

Newt’s comment on Meet the Press reflects what we need. Unfortunately he was creamed for saying it.