This was the week before “super Tuesday,” where most primary elections will be held to choose the candidates for presidency. Yesterday, we had a lecture by the current Obama Health plan advisor David Cutler. His talk was interesting and I thought I’d make a special posting.
Basically there are three components to reform the health care system.
More Coverage
The system needs to cover more people, but how do we get the money to do so? According the the Kaiser Family Foundation, 18% of the US population is uninsured. This is approximately 1 in every 5 people.[1] The Obama plan doesn’t support a single health plan, but does plan to make sure it’s affordable and accessible and that no American will be turned away from health care coverage.
Rationalize Health Care
Although our country spends a lot of money on health care, some estimates suggest that 50% of funds are wasted in an entrenched and inefficient system. There are many voices as to improve our bang-for-the-buck factor and the Obama plan attempts to do all of them. (health effectiveness research, electronic medical records, performance based reimbursements, re-insurance, disease management). Effectively, it’s moving towards bridging the implementation gap in our fragmented system.
Focus on Public Health
Bioterror, Obesity, and Smoking
Barriers
The number one barrier to this plan is Politics. The second is funding, and finally perhaps, the most influential factor is that people are scared of change when it comes to health care. For example, when people perceive of the possible negative downsides, people back off. However, to make fundamental changes, everyone has to be on board with the decision.
To read more about the Obama Health Plan: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/#coverage-for-all
The Issue
For the democrat frontrunners, the health plans are not the issue. The ideas are great and do not differ too much. The issue is who can get this work done and get the majority on board with this idea. Although Dr. Cutler was Bill Clinton’s advisor in the past, he believes that if elected, Obama has more potential to make it happen because he has the trust of the people. It’s a matter if you believe in a top down approach with Hilary’s experience in the Senate, or a bottom up approach by appealing to the public and asking them to trust the government to make that change.
My Reflections
First of all, there are great ideas to dramatically reform Health Care, but this plan attempts to work within the current system to make changes competing groups are willing to accept. The ideas are there, it’s a matter of implementation and working through insurance companies, and powerful interest groups in order to make change. I think if the people are willing to take a risk for change, the benefits could outweigh the risk. There’s an idea that most people tend to choose the familiar and the realistic goals because that’s what they think is achievable. However if we are going to reform healthcare, people are going to have to be able to accept change for the possibility of a greater future. And I do agree that the power to make lasting change lies within the people.
Secondly, the debate needs to emphasize preventive health. A huge burden of disease is due to preventable diseases and we as a society are bearing all the costs. No matter what level of efficiency the medical system attains, there’s just no way to keep up with the demand without an honest effort towards preventive health care. Smoking and Obesity are bankrupting the system. (stay tuned for more on this)
Finally, Vote! I sent in my absentee ballot this week. This is a momentous event in not just American History, but effectively, world history, and we have the opportunity to participate in it. If we don’t vote, nobody who makes decisions will listen to our needs. Whether you are a democrat, republican or independent, I urge you and your friends and family to vote.
If you’ve read this far, I want to let you know that there are polls to vote at the bottom of this page. Please take 20 seconds to respond. I’m curious to see how many of us (my friends and family) are uninsured.
2 comments:
its all about McCain. in your brother's words, i'm an Uncle Wong. haha. but yeah Obama seems pretty chill too.
what happened to the blog posts?! I keep coming back to an un-updated site. :)
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