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Len Nichols Speaks at the 2008 AHIP Policy Forum

We just spent two days at AHIP’s (America’s Health Insurance Plans) 2008 National Policy Forum, an annual gathering about the challenges facing the industry. Despite the multitude of speakers with markedly different world views, the similarity of the themes was remarkable – and telling. We may have finally reached a point in the health care conversation where we are forced to agree on the fundamentals. Hallelujah.

The common refrains from the choir:

1. No matter who is elected President, he or she needs to present a solution to the health care crisis very early on in their administration.

2. This country is not ready for single payer, nor is it ready to hand everyone a check and wish them good luck in the free market.

3. We need to stop focusing on lowering prices and premiums and start focusing on how to manage care better to cut costs. We can save money by taking better care of patients.

4. The uninsured have many faces – they are not simply the poorest segment of society.

5. Health IT (information technology) may not save money, but it will improve care. IT will also allow us to develop comparative effectiveness studies, so we can finally figure out what treatments are medically effective and cost efficient, and avoid treatments that are only marginally effective.

6. Wellness is good. Obesity is bad.

7. We need to change the incentives so that physicians are paid based on the quality – not the quantity – of care they provide.

As always, AHIP presented an impressive line-up of speakers that ranged from the ultra-political-commentators (Chris Matthews, Donna Brazile) to the biggest names in health policy wonkness (Len Nichols of New America, Paul Ginsburg of Center for Studying Health System Change, former HCFA Administrators Bruce Vladeck and Gail Wilensky) and two politicians on the front line of health care, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), lead sponsor of the Healthy Americans Act and Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), the Ranking Minority Member of Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health. They even cajoled the charismatic Andy Stern of SEIU to encourage the mostly-insurers-audience to be “agitators of change” to improve health care in this country.