HHS report says health reform vital to U.S. economy as costs rise, quality of care worsens

Comprehensive health care reform is necessary this year because of rising costs and the declining quality of care, according to an HHS report released on Monday, Reuters/Boston Globe reports.

The report amasses the findings of numerous studies that have been used to substantiate calls for comprehensive health reform. In the report, HHS highlights how U.S. health care spending has doubled from 1996 to 2006, reaching $2.2 trillion in 2007, or $7,421 per capita -- accounting for more than 16% of the gross domestic product, nearly double the average of other developed countries. According to the report, unless there is massive change, health care costs are expected to rise to 25% of GDP in 2025, and reach 49% by 2082.

The report also notes, "Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have more than doubled in the last nine years," adding, "As a result of these crushing health care costs, American businesses are losing their ability to compete in the global marketplace."

In addition, the report cites a Commonwealth Foundation study that found the U.S. achieved an overall score of 65 out of a possible 100 on 37 quality performance indicators. According to HHS, "In spite of the vast resources invested, the health care system has not yet reached the goal of high-quality care." HHS spokesperson Jenny Backus in a statement said, "Today's report outlines the high cost of waiting to fix a system that has left too many Americans without the affordable, quality care they deserve" (Fox, Reuters/Boston Globe, 3/30).

The report is available online.

Sebelius Calls for Immediate Action

In prepared remarks for her appearance before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), President Obama's nominee for HHS secretary, will say that inaction on health care "is not an option" and that retaining the status quo is "unacceptable and unsustainable," the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Senate Finance Committee will hold Sebelius' confirmation hearing on Thursday. Sebelius might face questions about her view on abortion, as antiabortion groups strongly oppose her nomination (Werner, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 3/31).

Meanwhile, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), Obama's first choice for HHS secretary, on Monday at the Panetta Institute Lecture Series said that the best chance for comprehensive health care reform is in strengthening "public-private partnership" (Alexander, Santa Cruz Sentinel, 3/30).

Health Care Forums

Summaries of news coverage about two recent forums on health care reform appear below.

• Congressional Health Care Caucus: In the first public briefing of the year by the CHCC, health care experts on Monday debated ways to restructure the medical provider payment system and how public programs, such as Medicare, compare with private insurers in keeping down administrative costs, CQ HealthBeat reports. The forum featured Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund; Merrill Matthews, director of the Council for Affordable Health Insurance; and Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute (Adams, CQ HealthBeat, 3/30).
• Alliance for Health Reform: Health care experts at an Alliance for Health Reform forum on Friday discussed how using a team-based approach to health care delivery can considerably improve quality of care and patient safety while reducing costs, CQ HealthBeat reports. Panelists highlighted two successful team-based systems at Kaiser Permanente in Colorado and Montefiore Medical Center in New York that have each been successful in improving patient health by coordinating care with the assistance of electronic health records and electronic communication (Attias, CQ HealthBeat, 3/30). The forum was sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform, Kaiser Permanente and the AFL-CIO.

A webcast of the forum is available online at kaisernetwork.org.

Please note: The Kaiser Family Foundation is not associated with Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries.

Baucus

The Hill on Tuesday examined how Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) "has emerged as the Senate's point man on health care reform" in the absence of Senate HELP Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.). Baucus' role has prompted "concern" among "some senior liberals who wonder whether Baucus may strain too hard to cut a deal with Republicans," according to The Hill. While Kennedy "is viewed as a reliable champion of liberal causes," Baucus has a "history of cutting deals with Republicans," The Hill reports (Bolton, The Hill, 3/30).

Opinion Piece

"[P]reventing and managing chronic diseases, which have ballooned in the United States over the past several decades," is "absolutely critical to improving Americans' health and the economy," Christine Ferguson, director of the STOP Obesity Alliance and associate research professor at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, and Ken Thorpe, executive director of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease and of the Emory Institute for Advanced Policy Solutions, write in an opinion piece in The Hill. They outline the implications that the "rapid growth in chronic illnesses" has on the U.S. economy and U.S. productivity.

Ferguson and Thorpe suggest that "in addition to moving toward universal coverage, building health reform around better prevention and management of obesity and related chronic diseases could eliminate -- not just shift -- costs from our health care system." The "fight to transform our nation's health care system so that it incentivizes and rewards good health, rather than simply treating illness, will not be easy," they write, adding that "it is a goal that stakeholders from every perspective can agree on as it focuses health reform on what actually matters: improving Americans' health" (Ferguson/Thorpe, The Hill, 3/31).