Transcript

DARRELL WEST:  A few months ago our political leaders signaled their intention to pass comprehensive health care reform by this fall, and of course now we are seeing House and Senate Committees marking up various bills. There've been high-profile meetings at the White House. Various industry groups have pledged to cut costs, which have been soaring well above the rate of inflation. We don't know exactly what the ultimate proposal's going to look like, but legislation has been proposed that establishes a new public insurance plan, requires individuals to own insurance, and mandates that businesses provide insurance for their employees, among other features.

Proponents have argued that these steps are absolutely vital in order to save money, improve quality, and provide health care to those who need it. Opponents argue that we should not expand the role of the government in health care, that we should not have public plans competing with private insurance companies, and that the price tag for those proposed changes is way too expensive. Public opinion remains quite complicated on health care reform. A recent New York Times/CBS national survey found that 61 percent of Americans believe the rising cost of health care represents a very serious threat to our national economy, and 59 percent believe that the government actually would do a better job than private companies in holding down the cost of health care. But at the same time, 77 percent of Americans have indicated that they are satisfied with the quality of the health care that they personally receive.

On top of all this, it's unclear how some of the new advances in health information technology, telemedicine, and mobile health through cell phones relate to the broader effort at health care reform. I have a book, Digital Medicine: Health Care in the Internet Era, and I note that there are many exciting developments taking place in the area of new technology in health care. In fact, many argue that new technology actually is the key to long-term cost savings in this area. But we need to figure out how to use technology to reform organizations, change cultures, and alter reimbursement rates, because if we don't get the incentives right, health care reform is not going to be successful no matter what ends up in the final package.

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