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THE QUESTION
Is It Possible to Rein In Costs? How?
The Blue Dog Coalition worries the health bill in the House does not address fundamental cost drivers in the system. Is it possible to rein in costs in the current system? How?
Posted by Ceci Connolly on July 21, 2009 10:45 AM
FROM THE PANEL
Reining In Costs Requires a Paradigm Shift
The promise of health reform - providing the best possible care to all Americans - cannot be achieved without reining in cost. But to do so will require a fundamental restructuring of our health care system. We need a paradigm shift.
Posted by Vivek Murthy, on July 24, 2009 6:01 PM
No System ... No Cost Control
The unrelenting rise in health care costs is a burden to individual patients, employers, governments and our nation's ability to compete globally. Is it possible to rein in the cost of health care? Yes, but minor changes to the current manner in which we pay for care only perpetuates more of the same - more uncoordinated care at a higher cost. We need change that rewards coordinated care aimed at bringing physicians and hospitals together in the best interest of the patient.
Posted by Scott Young, on July 24, 2009 5:34 PM
Rein Costs In or They'll Rein Us In
For small business, where problems are most immediate and acute, reform requires better insurance markets and delivery systems.
Posted by Robert F. Graboyes, on July 24, 2009 1:33 PM
Health Care Road Trip
Over the next 90 days, President Obama and the Congressional leaders could embark on a 50-state tour (with stops in the U.S. territories and the District of Columbia, of course) to talk with citizens about the specific sacrifices we all need to make in order to make health-care reform a reality.
Posted by Raymond Martins, on July 24, 2009 12:25 PM
The Short Answer Is No
The short answer is no, not until transformational change occurs in the infrastructure of health care delivery. The system today is so broken that, if the infrastructure is fixed and incentives re-aligned, we could deliver twice the health care to twice the people at half the cost but we won't achieve this by simply throwing money at it.
Posted by Colleen Conway-Welch, on July 24, 2009 9:58 AM
Four Steps to Rein in Costs
As in medicine, we need to cure the disease, not just alleviate its symptoms. To control costs and get to 100 percent coverage, we need to focus on four transformational changes in this order:
Posted by Newt Gingrich, on July 24, 2009 9:57 AM
The Prime Suspects
The Blue Dog Coalition is probably right. As is, the reform bill does not address cost-containment strategies. The truth is, if we don't deal with these cost drivers now, we'll certainly have to face them in a few years.
Posted by Doug Ulman, on July 22, 2009 5:32 PM
Medicare and Tax Reform Are the Answers
The extraordinary growth in domestic health-care spending is a predictable result of our tax policies and the many federal rules forced upon Medicare. If we are going to be serious about making health care more responsible and effective, we need to address these issues first.
Posted by Howard Forman, on July 22, 2009 10:20 AM
Solutions Within Reach
Nigerians have a proclivity towards speaking in idioms and proverbs. Here's one time where adopting my mother's penchant for the same can speak volumes: Prevention is better than cure.
Posted by Chisara N. Asomugha, on July 22, 2009 7:29 AM
The Current System Can't Be Tweaked
It is an insult to the American people to insinuate that the current health-care system only needs a few tweaks to rein in escalating costs.
Posted by Kathy-Ellen Kups, on July 21, 2009 11:06 PM
Divided We Fail
Truthfully, we will not achieve the perfect health plan, but we owe our countrymen something better than the limited access and skyrocketing costs that plague our current system.
Posted by Chris T. Pernell, on July 21, 2009 6:25 PM
Proven Savings From Prevention, Early Intervention
Preventing things from happening continues to be undervalued even though we know it significantly reduces future costs.
Posted by Georges Benjamin, on July 21, 2009 4:49 PM
Prevention Saves Lives and Dollars
Prevention measures didn't even get the respect of a cost score from the Congressional Budget Office. This is a totally backwards way of thinking.
Posted by Angela Glover Blackwell, on July 21, 2009 4:05 PM
Good Health Is Priceless
A focus on disease prevention and management, improved technologies and innovative medicines will improve health outcomes and lessen existing health system strains on our economy.
Posted by David Brennan, on July 21, 2009 4:01 PM
Start with ERs, Medicare and Drug Companies
The emergency rooms in this country are filled with people who don't belong there and are displaying flagrant abuse of the system.
Posted by Sue Falkner Wood, on July 21, 2009 3:10 PM
It's Not About Costs, It's About Enabling Transformation
We should concentrate on enabling the kind of transformation that's happened in banking, travel and other service industries.
Posted by Peter Neupert, on July 21, 2009 10:39 AM
We Must Threaten the Status Quo
The danger is that Congress will fall back to old habits and make its usual cuts to physician fee schedules, medical education, social programs, etc. The "big ticket" opportunities lie elsewhere.
Posted by Mark Kelley, on July 21, 2009 9:31 AM
Waiting for the Roof to Leak
If someone is very obese and is at risk of getting diabetes, a doctor cannot be reimbursed for helping them lose weight in the Medicare system -- the patient must be diagnosed with a disease first. That's like saying that we wait until the roof leaks and ruins our living room furniture before we repair a hole in the roof.
Posted by Michael Critelli, on July 20, 2009 11:10 PM
One Small Step/One Giant Leap
If we focus on these few, small steps, I believe that we can truly achieve the giant leaps in health-care transformation we need to remain competitive in the global economy. Like the Apollo program, it's worth taking our time to get it done right the first time around.
Posted by Raymond J. Zastrow, on July 20, 2009 12:01 PM
The Heavy Lifting of Health Reform
There's no way to cut spending in American health care without re-engineering how care is delivered.
Posted by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, on July 20, 2009 11:20 AM
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