It’s looking more likely that we will have some type of health care reform legislation enacted in our country. It’s also looking more likely that the legislation that will be enacted- will not address the fundamental issues facing our health care system. Politics wins.
A new poll conducted by Stanford University with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that 43 percent of Americans oppose the health care plans being discussed in Congress while 41 percent are in support. 15 percent remain neutral or undecided.
These numbers have remained relatively consistent over the past month but the opponents have stronger feelings on the issue than do supporters. Seniors justifiably remain more skeptical than the younger generations.
Americans are worried about the fine print included in the health care overhaul. With the House Bill (3962) weighing-in at 1990 pages, who can blame them. You would have thought that the House would have learned from the Clinton Reform effort of the 90’s that coming out with a monstrosity of legal jargon that the average citizen is not going to comprehend is going to lead to skepticism of its content. But, the Democrats have the numbers on their side (at least in theory) that could tip the discussion their way anyway. That’s what we’re afraid of.
Unfortunately, the reform discussions continue to focus on the wrong things. The primary focus continues to be centered on “providing health care for the uninsured", when the focus should be about reorganizing care delivery, improving communication and consumer awareness, coordinating care more effectively, improving system efficiency, and developing new payment methods to assure a quality health care system is available to all citizens.
One of the frightening facts of the recent poll finds that consumers are afraid of the increases in their current costs because “people in poor health who’d been shut out of the insurance pool would now be included, and they would get the medical care they could not access before”. These individuals need to realize somebody is already paying with the system we have today- and it’s more expensive than if all individuals had access earlier in the game rather than waiting for an emergency.
Instead of focusing on “insurance reform” (public option, mandates, etc.) we need to focus on changing the current trajectory of health care costs for individuals who already have health care coverage. There is more than enough waste in our current system to provide for those not “insured” by developing a more organized and collaborative structure than we have today. There is no reason why people in poor health in our country should be shut out from access to appropriate medical care. This is inexcusable. We need to address both.
We just believe the current reform models being discussed in Congress are going about it the wrong way.
A new poll conducted by Stanford University with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that 43 percent of Americans oppose the health care plans being discussed in Congress while 41 percent are in support. 15 percent remain neutral or undecided.
These numbers have remained relatively consistent over the past month but the opponents have stronger feelings on the issue than do supporters. Seniors justifiably remain more skeptical than the younger generations.
Americans are worried about the fine print included in the health care overhaul. With the House Bill (3962) weighing-in at 1990 pages, who can blame them. You would have thought that the House would have learned from the Clinton Reform effort of the 90’s that coming out with a monstrosity of legal jargon that the average citizen is not going to comprehend is going to lead to skepticism of its content. But, the Democrats have the numbers on their side (at least in theory) that could tip the discussion their way anyway. That’s what we’re afraid of.
Unfortunately, the reform discussions continue to focus on the wrong things. The primary focus continues to be centered on “providing health care for the uninsured", when the focus should be about reorganizing care delivery, improving communication and consumer awareness, coordinating care more effectively, improving system efficiency, and developing new payment methods to assure a quality health care system is available to all citizens.
One of the frightening facts of the recent poll finds that consumers are afraid of the increases in their current costs because “people in poor health who’d been shut out of the insurance pool would now be included, and they would get the medical care they could not access before”. These individuals need to realize somebody is already paying with the system we have today- and it’s more expensive than if all individuals had access earlier in the game rather than waiting for an emergency.
Instead of focusing on “insurance reform” (public option, mandates, etc.) we need to focus on changing the current trajectory of health care costs for individuals who already have health care coverage. There is more than enough waste in our current system to provide for those not “insured” by developing a more organized and collaborative structure than we have today. There is no reason why people in poor health in our country should be shut out from access to appropriate medical care. This is inexcusable. We need to address both.
We just believe the current reform models being discussed in Congress are going about it the wrong way.
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