Len Nichols on Health Care in the State of the Union
Len Nichols, Director of the Health Policy Program at the New America Foundation, made the following statement today in reaction to the health care proposals outlined in President Bush’s State of the Union address:
“I can think of no quicker path to a single payer health system than what the President proposed last evening. While eliminating the tax preference for employer-provided health insurance may be useful in creating a system of coverage for all Americans, it is by no means a complete package.
To make the President’s proposal successful, it is necessary to implement reforms that would make health insurance markets work for all (not just the healthy and wealthy). Luring Americans into the “Wild Wild West” of an effectively unregulated individual insurance market without measures to ensure affordable access for the sick and low-income would only further destabilize the U.S. healthcare system.
In addition, no health reform proposal will be sustainable over time without serious efforts to address the delivery system inefficiencies – too much low value care, not enough high value care – that drive ever-rising health care costs. Failing to consider the root causes of health care cost growth is to ignore one of the largest economic challenges facing our nation.
Some might argue that given the sudden economic downturn, we cannot afford health reform. To the contrary: we cannot afford to ignore health care any longer. Health reform is a necessary step toward strengthening our nation’s economy for the long term. A more sustainable health system will lead to higher levels of productivity and a more stable U.S. economy.
Therefore, I am disappointed that the President chose not to advance the health reform debate last evening; however, I remain heartened by the increasing momentum for change in Congress and across the nation. There is a growing consensus amongst lawmakers, employers, clinicians, policymakers, and most importantly the American public, that our nation’s health care system is in need of serious repair. We should build on these sentiments and work in a bipartisan way to create a sustainable health care system for all Americans.”
