In a USA Today editorial today, Steven Findlay, senior health policy analyst at Consumers Union, sheds some light on the myths about health-care reform, many of which have frightened Americans. In it he debunks the notion that our system is headed toward socialized, government-run medicine with a side of rationed care:
"Cookbook and rationed care? This fear stems from concerns that the government aims to dictate what doctors do and cut costs by limiting access to care. These notions are wrong. Rather, what [President] Obama and both Democratic and Republican leaders want to do is aggressively measure the quality of care that doctors and hospitals deliver and change the way those providers get paid so quality of care—rather than quantity—is rewarded. That's hardly a socialistic notion."
So what must be done to fix the system? Findlay urges creative thinking and proposes that the medical industry be challenged to cut costs and change its "General Motors gas-guzzler mindset" by reducing waste and inventing more efficient systems.
Consumers Union fully agrees that it will indeed take creative thinking from the government and medical industry to reform health care. In our latest report on how we’d fix the system, we examine five of the worst fears about health reform, including the myths that "comparing the relative effectiveness of treatments and drugs will lead to rationing," and "health reform means a government takeover of medicine as in England and Canada." We stand behind a public plan that covers everyone—even the sick, gives patients the freedom to choose a health plan that gives them affordable, portable, and quality coverage, and focuses on the importance of primary care—which would not only allow doctors to be doctors, but would also cut health costs by an estimated 20 to 30 percent.
—Ginger Skinner
We’d like to hear from you: What myths about health reform resonate with you? And what are your biggest fears about reform?
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