Just the beginning

We at Cardinal Health applaud the effort to tackle such an extraordinarily complex, technical and personal issue of health care, and we believe Congress has taken an important step in improving access to and affordability of health coverage for millions of Americans, particularly those most vulnerable. As more than 30 million new patients come into the system -- a system already under stress -- we are eager to continue to do our part to make health care more cost-effective.

This is just the beginning of the reform process - a great deal of work will now be done in the regulatory arena as the specifics of reform are outlined. In addition, while the law creates several demonstration projects to better align payment systems with clinical outcomes and value, more needs to be done in this area. We would also like to see additional attention paid to wellness, personal responsibility for health and patient literacy to enable Americans to be better health consumers.

As the work to overhaul the U.S. health-care system continues, we will continue to focus on reducing costs and improving efficiency so our pharmacy, hospital and ambulatory care customers can focus on their patients.

Although the health-care debate has been contentious and at times deeply divisive, there is still work to be done and Americans will need our collective commitment, insights and solutions as we move forward.

By George Barrett  |  March 29, 2010; 1:56 PM ET Save & Share:                 
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