GREENPAGAN

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This Time Around, Health-Care Revamp Has Wings

News Type: Event — Seeded on Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:40 PM EST

Article Source: Wall Street Journal

politics, obama, health-care, kennedy, baucus, daschle

Seeded by greenpagan

The effort to overhaul the nation's health system will begin next year with one clear advantage over previous attempts: A wide variety of interest groups are rooting for it to succeed rather than plotting to kill it.

That is a stark contrast to the last big health-care initiative in the early 1990s, when many of the same groups helped block any major change.

In addition, Barack Obama's choice of Tom Daschle, a former Senate Majority Leader, as Secretary of Health and Human Services, puts a skilled navigator of Capitol Hill in charge of the president-elect's bid to establish universal health care, which he has made a top priority.

***

The basic concept is this: A government-organized exchange would let individuals and small businesses buy coverage from private companies, or from a new government-run, Medicare-like plan. Subsidies would aid lower-income people. Large employers would be required to offer coverage or pay into a fund. Small employers would get a tax credit if they provided insurance. And a host of initiatives would be launched to reduce costs and improve quality.

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{"commentId":4152320,"authorDomain":"engdahljohnson"}

Jeremy Engdahl-Johnson

Of course, there are many points of disagreement on healthcare reform and numerous difficult decisions and compromises to be hammered out. But there’s also widespread agreement on at least two critical reform requirements.

-- Electronic health records (EHR). Bringing together the major medical systems has been a priority of current HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt, and will likely be backed by his probable successor Tom Daschle. EHR adoption is still low, so the opportunity is real and big.
-- Evidence-based medicine. Stakeholders agree that all efforts and systems should be based on sound medical science and published literature. The new systems need to assure and deliver quality, consistent care, incorporating the best diagnostic and quality care guidelines. These guidelines need to be available at the patient’s bedside as well as throughout payer and provider organizations.

These two concepts give us a starting point for the emerging health reform compromise. I'm looking forward to seeing more points of agreement emerge as the reform conversation gains volume.

Possibilities?

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