I was listening to the radio this morning and one of the news outlets (NYT, I believe) counted the number of campaign promises Obama made during his campaign. As a reference point, in the 2004 election Bush was quoted as making upwards of 198 different campaign promises. Obama came in at 515. But again, let's just concentrate on the one that matters to me personally, and also the impetus for this blog.
Health Care reform promises to take center stage as one of the most important issues of Obama's Presidency. To keep pace, the focus of this blog will compare and contrast every idea, proposal, white paper, and policy that offers an idea on how to reform the system. Once I've assimilated the information, I will strive to contribute my own ideas to the discussion taking shape. And why not? It's my blog ;)
Two recent posts of mine deal with various proposals to reform the HC System:
- Perhaps, a Ray of "Sunshine?" Health Insurance Policy Paper from the CBO Released Today (january 8, 2009)
- The Stage is Set for Health Care Reform (january 15, 2009)
I also recently cited the release of Tom Daschle's Book: Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.In the coming months I will be piecing together a policy paper of my own that deals with the competing proposals, from the establishment of a Federal Health Exchange to the proposed Employer HC Subsidy. The paper will be published here and be written in lay terms.
In the meantime, I wanted to share another reference source with you. The Rand Corporation publicly released it's Health Care Policy Reform comparison tool, aptly entitled: COMPARE.
Here are the four basic objectives of COMPARE:
- Synthesize what is known about the current health care system.
- Describe policy options that have been proposed to address one or more existing challenges.
- Analyze the effects of different health care policy options on multiple dimensions of health system performance.
- Identify gaps in our knowledge about the effects of policy changes.
Rather than constructing specific policy proposals, COMPARE offers objective analyses of policy options currently being used, considered, or discussed by public and private policymaker. Goodie.
Truth be told, I haven't had time to fully explore the site and their metrics, but on the surface it looks great. Lucky for you, I will sift though all the data and analysis and translate it all for you here. Ideally, I would like separate entries here to deal with each competing idea.Many different policymakers, including President Clinton have tried to reform the system. All of them have failed.
But, things have changed.
The recession has placed downward pressure on HC GDP. Consumerism is now creating economies of scale that are finally starting to enact price constraints. New technology avails more data at both the provider and subscriber levels. That same technology now allows systems of managed competition amongst insurers to flourish where none previously existed. Disease management and wellness have become more sophisticated. Patents on top 100 drugs are beginning to expire in scores. And public and social awareness of the problem has never been higher. In 1998, when the average family was paying around $6,200 for annual coverage, there were bigger issue with which to deal. In 2009, that figure has doubled, and then some. It's now at the top of everyone's list.
The ideas are out there. We need only to make sense of them. And in order for any one idea to work, it must be unilaterally accepted as viable for all socioeconomic strata.
We all welcome the hope for change. But what kind of change, is not up to Obama. It's up to us.
-J|S
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