Editorial in The Hill by Sen. John Kerry

[TayTay]

Nice Article:

http://thehill.com/op-eds/unfinished-business-from-20th-century-fixing-healthcare-2008-08-25.html

While leaving millions of Americans uninsured might seem to save money, the inefficient care that the uninsured do receive taxes the entire healthcare system and economy. The result is a destructive dynamic in which high costs lead to more uninsured Americans, and more uninsured Americans contribute to higher costs. We have to break the cycle.

Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) plan and the Democratic platform are committed to getting it right. We have proposed guaranteeing that every American has access to an affordable health plan that’s portable and just as good as the one their member of Congress has. But to achieve lasting success, we also propose to attack cost by modernizing healthcare delivery, reducing waste, investing in information technology and controlling the cost of catastrophic illness.

Better technology yields far greater efficiency. Today about one-third of health spending does not improve patient health. That accounts for a remarkable 5 percent of our national GDP. It’s just plain waste, and in many cases it makes things worse for patients. The overuse, under-use and misuse of healthcare can be contained by giving our providers better information about what works and what doesn’t, then rewarding those who use this information and penalizing those who do not. Today, the inefficiencies in our healthcare system are like a flat tire that prevents our entire economy from running smoothly.

[ProSense]

1. Cool, thanks.

Posted here.