The United States must reform its health-care system. Now.
That was the overwhelming message from industry leaders in Northeast Ohio to incoming President Barack Obama on the eve of his inauguration.
The leaders suggested a variety of ways to reform the system: Change the way we deliver health care; change the way doctors and hospitals are paid to provide better care at lower cost; provide tax relief for small employers that offer health care to employees; support well-care rather than sick-care; support health care and medical research as the economic drivers they have become.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
MedCity News asked local leaders to answer the question: What is the one piece of health-care reform you most hope for from the Obama Administration?
Here are their responses:
Steve Millard
President, executive director of The Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE)
We need policy reform that relieves small employers of the cost burden of providing health insurance to employees. We also need policies that encourage consumers to make good health care decisions, which impact the cost of health insurance for everyone.
Barbara Belovich
Executive director, Health Action Council Ohio
“Fulfill the promise of our American health-care system to provide all Americans with access to health care that is safe, effective and affordable.
Using Informed Awareness to Transform Care Coordination and Improve the Clinical and Patient Experience
This eBook, in collaboration with Care Logistics, details how hospitals and health systems can facilitate more effective decision-making by operationalizing elevated awareness.
“To do so, we must fundamentally change the ways in which we deliver care. The current economic crisis highlights the imperative to transform America’s health care system, and the opportunity to do so has never been greater. If we fail to do so, we will fail our population and fall further behind our global competitors that spend far less and have superior health outcomes.
“Health Action Council Ohio supports the National Priorities Partnership goals that address the greatest challenges facing the health care system: eliminating harm, eradicating disparities, reducing disease burden, and removing waste. ”
Dr. Michael R. Anderson
Interim senior vice president and chief medical officer, University Hospitals
“First, take care of the uninsured. We need to decrease the number of uninsured patients in our country.” Second, invest in information technology to improve patient care. Third, “continue to invest in our research infrastructure to cure disease.”
Thomas Campanella
Director, Health Care MBA, Baldwin-Wallace College
“Bluntly, it’s health care payment reform.” The current system pays physicians and hospitals more money to provide more services and more expensive services. The system should pay for better quality of care at a lower cost, for chronic disease management and for keeping people well.
Dr. Pamela B. Davis
Dean and vice president for medical affairs, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
“We look to the Obama Administration to recognize not only the current economic value of biomedical research, but also its long-term investment value.
“Families USA estimates that for every $1 billion invested in National Institutes of Health (NIH) research, 15,000 good jobs (average salary $52,000) are generated, as is $2.21 billion of new business activity. However, every year since 2004, federal funding for non-defense research in the life sciences has fallen.
“The NIH is the primary engine for biomedical research. Without this funding, we’ll not realize our potential to contribute to improved health, and to new cures and new public health measures. The reduced death rates from cancer and heart disease are entirely attributable to what we have learned from research.
Congress should pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009, which includes $2 billion for NIH biomedical research that would be invested in “America’s future in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, health maintenance, public health and health care.”
Augie Napoli
President and chief operating officer, The Summa Foundation
“Reform health care. We’ve been talking as a nation about reform in health care since Harry Truman [was president]. Somehow, we haven’t managed to get there.
Today’s mandate for health care reform and economic crisis “will force a change.”
“Health care deserves its legitimate place as an economic engine with the potential to revitalize the economy.”
