Health Care
The recently passed Federal healthcare legislation is a promising indication that reform is possible. The new law appears to bring us closer to insurance for all Americans. It is only the beginning, however, of the work that needs to be done on cost containment and quality improvement.
Cost Containment and Quality Improvement
• Health care spending is growing at unsustainable rates. In Minnesota alone, health care spending has more than doubled since the late 1990’s.
• These rapidly increasing expenditures constrain wage increases, limit business investment, and crowd out desperately needed government investment in areas like education and infrastructure.
Several steps are necessary to contain these costs and improve the quality of our health care in Minnesota:
Full Participation. Increasing the number of people with health insurance enhances the chances they will receive coordinated and pro-active care and minimizes more expensive and haphazard care options like the emergency room. It also reflects the reality that everyone has access to care while ensuring an adequate pool to spread the costs of health care. The Federal healthcare legislation appears to go a long way toward accomplishing this important goal.
Value not Volume. A significant share of the cost of healthcare comes from a system that provides incentives for procedures instead of performance. We need reform that removes incentives to perform procedures and lets providers focus on outcomes. The 2008 Minnesota healthcare reform legislation provides a good start on this goal and recent creative efforts like those negotiated between Medica and Fairview Hospitals are an indication that we’re starting to move in the right direction.
Coordination of Care. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, over 75% of our national healthcare expenditures are for treatment of chronic disease. Patients with chronic conditions should have their care coordinated so each treatment episode is be part of an overall plan for ongoing treatment rather than reactions to symptoms as they arise.
Prevention. The simplest way to reduce healthcare expense is to prevent people from getting sick. While not all illnesses can be prevented, we know more and more about how lifestyle choices affect our health. We need to continue to educate the public on healthy lifestyle choices and get individuals to take personal responsibility for how their lifestyle choices affect their health.