In March 2010, the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act was signed into law. In August 2009 I launched this website with Healthcare Letter to Americans: Is There Another Way, adding 13 additional blogs through March 2010. My goal was to engage the American public in the issues and process of reform.
The point of the blog was not to advocate specific provisions or regulations, but to emphasize that the process we use for reform is as important as the ideas themselves. Today we have sweeping healthcare changes in this country, but with an electorate that is very divided.
While I expect to continue the intent of the original Healthcare Letter I want to ensure that in this new phase following passage of the March 2010 Act we focus on the future, not on Monday-morning quarterbacking. I’d like to repeat an observation from the original letter, the impetus behind this website, as I believe it is as important today as it was a year ago:
What ever happens in Washington, it is certain we will not solve all the problems of healthcare and its delivery and financing systems this fall. At this point, my sincere hope is we do not simply add to the problems.
Ultimately please don’t think of healthcare reform as a one-time political process happening this fall or not at all. That is how we can start to change the reform process. Think of it as an evolving transformation in changing the way Americans think about our health, how we manage it, how we improve it and how we finance it. And if we do this right and we are involved, we can achieve successes and breakthroughs along the way.
The goal of the website is to help people who are my friends, neighbors, and fellow Americans take a complex issue, healthcare, and break it down so that a non-expert can participate in the dialogue without spending hours of study. I promise I don’t write too frequently, perhaps once a month at most. The goal is not volume.
I think it is important to note that I do have biases. Healthcare is about people, you and me. The historical culture of healthcare was that experts did things for us… the patient. From both professional and personal experiences, I believe that consumers must have greater impact in healthcare.
Perhaps the more important question for me and one I hope you ask is “Can we encourage the development of a system that brings out the best in people and outcomes, or will healthcare become a system of managed resources in an increasingly unsustainable financial future?” What is at stake is huge. That is why we need to be informed and involved.
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Most importantly, thank you for taking time to visit, and I would love to hear from you. My hope is by visiting this site and its resources, you feel more confident about engaging in the healthcare discussion.
Oaks
