The New Health Dialogue

Last night’s election in Massachusetts made clear that the journey to a high-quality, sustainable health system that works for all of us is far from over. I will leave the next tactical steps to political professionals. But as a health economist, I will spend today reminding myself and my colleagues why we have to keep fighting. Failing to fix our health care system is not an option. Our nation’s fiscal future and its ability to compete internationally, the health of our people, and the quality of our national character hang in the balance. 

 

Our businesses -- large and small alike -- are crushed by rising health care costs. Our people are dying prematurely and going bankrupt. And our fiscal house is crumbling, as Medicare and Medicaid costs grow faster than the economy. As an economist, let me be clear: our health care crisis impacts every American. 

 

Employers are struggling to compete in a global economy. CEOs from some of the nation’s largest companies tell tales of sending or choosing to grow jobs overseas. Health reform would change that by finally slowing the rate of health care cost growth, freeing employers to concentrate on their business and workers to earn higher wages. 

 

The recent economic crisis proves that any one of us could find ourselves unemployed and unable to access or afford health care for our family. Health reform would change that by giving every American the security of knowing they will always be able to afford quality health insurance for their family, ensuring that no American will go bankrupt because a loved one gets sick.

 

This country’s current fiscal imbalance must be remedied. Current trajectories will not allow us to uphold America’s commitment to our seniors and most vulnerable. Our fiscal condition threatens our nation’s economic livelihood and its standing in the global economy. Health reform is the first step to changing that by beginning to slow the rate of health care cost growth (particularly Medicare costs), so that we can get our fiscal house in order over time.

 

No health reform bill will be perfect. But doing nothing, or running from reform and acting as if the most strident critics are correct, is the wrong response. As a nation we must commit to starting down this path because the consequences of inaction are too grave. We have come so far. We cannot afford to falter now. Reform can be properly explained and understood, but only if we plow ahead beginning today.