Action For Better Healthcare

By Kester Freeman
Retired CEO, Palmetto Health

I attended an event Monday evening where Bill Clinton was the keynote speaker. This was held at the Premier healthcare alliance Governance Education Conference in Scottsdale, AZ. Premier invites healthcare leaders from across the country to this annual conference. It's an opportunity for hospital leaders to learn and share their knowledge with each other.

Clinton gave a wonderful talk about what happened with recent healthcare reform efforts and where we go from here.

He explained that our healthcare system in America costs too much and does too little. He says the way care is delivered needs to be changed, mentioning bundling payments and reforming the way Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements are made to hospitals and doctors as just two examples.

Clinton acknowledges that there are challenges and roadblocks in the way. He says the American public is resistant to these changes because healthcare is complex and can be misrepresented. It is deeply personal and sparks fear and insecurity. He says another issue is that many people just don't understand what's in the healthcare reform bills and that's a problem.

Clinton told the crowd that middle-class America hated the Nebraska deal and he understands why.

Despite the hurdles, the former president says he would still forge ahead and pass some type of healthcare reform this year, explaining that we cannot afford to do nothing.

Bill Clinton echoed what we have been saying on our blog for months. Try to do this thing in chunks, he recommended. This approach could work, but Clinton says it depends on what pieces of healthcare reform you enact first. Healthcare has to be reformed in the right order.

I couldn't agree more.

Look for more posts later this week on our blog regarding other thoughts from Bill Clinton. Stay tuned.

kfreeman | Bill Clinton, Cost reduction, GPO, Government, Legislation, Not For Profit hospitals, Quality, best practices, healthcare costs, healthcare insurance, healthcare reform, hospitals, medicaid, medicare, reimbursement | 01 27th, 2010 |

3 Responses

1. michael stephens Says:
   January 29th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
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   Bill Clinton is right, something must be done and it needs to progress with distinct parts of the system being addressed logically... ...

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   Bill Clinton is right, something must be done and it needs to progress with distinct parts of the system being addressed logically and and in sequence. However, the key question is whether the Republican Party has a sincere interest in doing so, or, as their representatives have said, healthcare reform will be the President Obama’s “Waterloo”. With mid-term elections ahead it is difficult to hold much hope for any unified action.

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2. journey home Says:
   January 29th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
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   “Use Senate reconciliation and expand Medicare via the Senate’s buy-in provisions. The CBO has already signed off on this as a... ...

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   “Use Senate reconciliation and expand Medicare via the Senate’s buy-in provisions. The CBO has already signed off on this as a means of saving money.

   More importantly, if more Americans can do a buy-in with Medicare, it creates more cost control (because there’s a genuine “public option” competitor).

   It also helps to solve the problems of pre-existing conditions, because Medicare does not deny coverage on this basis.

   Allowing a Medicare buy-in to Americans under 65 would give people a genuine alternative to private insurance and thereby render the pre-existing question moot.

   It would also lower Medicare costs by expanding the risk pool of patients (the great bulk of medical expenses are accounted for by a small number of people, mostly the elderly, requiring very expensive treatment).

   And it would substantially enhance the global competitiveness of American corporations. After all, in what other country in the world is health care a marginal cost of production for business?” – Roosevelt Institute Marshall Auerback

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3. Joe Damore Says:
   February 1st, 2010 at 2:47 pm
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   I agree that beginning with the areas of agreement, such as insurance reform in areas like pre-existing conditions, will at least ... ...

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   I agree that beginning with the areas of agreement, such as insurance reform in areas like pre-existing conditions, will at least start the reform process. The steps must fit with the longer term goals of creating alignment for more cost effective, higher quality care for all Americans (including the nearly 50 million uninsured). Reform must ultimately change the incentives for all of us, including both individuals and health care providers. For example, liability reform could be tied to the use of Evidence Based medicine.

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