Business Roundtable Proposes Obamacare to Restore American Competitiveness
Or: You Just Can’t Make This Shit Up
“Health Care Costs Put U.S. at Significant Disadvantage Compared with Global Competitors”
I’ll let you read the details, but short story:
Whodathunkit?
And what do they recommend?
Creating greater consumer value in the health care marketplace by using health information technology and empowering consumers with more information about good quality health care.
Providing more affordable health insurance options for all Americans by creating an open, all-inclusive private market for health insurance and replacing today’s fragmented state-by-state market with multistate markets. To ensure that insurance plans are solvent and meet certain minimum requirements, the role of individual states as the primary regulator should continue. Broader, more competitive markets will create more choices for more health care consumers.
Engaging all Americans in taking an active role in their health care. First, this means placing an obligation on all Americans to obtain health insurance either through their employer or the private market. Second, we must encourage all Americans to participate in employer- or community-based prevention, wellness and chronic care programs.
Offering health coverage and assistance to low-income, uninsured Americans that create a stable and secure public safety net. This assistance would be financed from the cost savings and efficiencies generated by a more competitive and value-driven health care system.
The Business Roundtable Health Care Value Index – Executive Summary | Business Roundtable.
Cross-posted at Asymptosis.
Hi Steve:
Right Topic and Wrong Conclusion.
“Today, our health care system leaves major consumer needs unmet, costs unchecked and basic practices untouched by the productivity revolution that has transformed every other sector of our economy. The Business Roundtable Health Care Value Index should add to the urgency felt by all major U.S. stakeholders to stimulate faster improvement in the performance of America’s health care system. We can do better. The global competitiveness of U.S. employers and workers depends on it.
‘When we spend more to get less, we all lose – workers, employers and the government. For America to succeed in today’s international economy, we must address the issue of health care value.'”
That last line is the clincher as it does adddress the issue being addressed in the ACA today which could have been accomplished through a better act. It is a start though and a far better one than leaving it to the private industry to provide a solution. In the past we were not getting better outcomes or values from the dollars being spent on healthcare by private citizens or employees. And the rising cost of healthcare and healthcare insurance has done little to insure the patient receives the best of care or the best outcome.
I have yet to see a heart attack victim or someone with pneumonia (myself once) ask to be taken to the best hospital in each of the instances because they had information this was the best place to go. Neither have I met many doctors who know the costs of the services provided if they are attached to a hospital clinic other than the office visit. No matter how many times I asked, they could not tell me (I had no insuramce at the time).
We do waste too much resource on healthcare because it is loose cannon with little to control it and provide a better outcome for patients.
Hi Steve:
Right Topic and Wrong Conclusion.
“Today, our health care system leaves major consumer needs unmet, costs unchecked and basic practices untouched by the productivity revolution that has transformed every other sector of our economy. The Business Roundtable Health Care Value Index should add to the urgency felt by all major U.S. stakeholders to stimulate faster improvement in the performance of America’s health care system. We can do better. The global competitiveness of U.S. employers and workers depends on it.
‘When we spend more to get less, we all lose – workers, employers and the government. For America to succeed in today’s international economy, we must address the issue of health care value.'”
That last line is the clincher as it does adddress the issue being addressed in the ACA today which could have been accomplished through a better act. It is a start though and a far better one than leaving it to the private industry to provide a solution. In the past we were not getting better outcomes or values from the dollars being spent on healthcare by private citizens or employees. And the rising cost of healthcare and healthcare insurance has done little to insure the patient receives the best of care or the best outcome.
I have yet to see a heart attack victim or someone with pneumonia (myself once) ask to be taken to the best hospital in each of the instances because they had information this was the best place to go. Neither have I met many doctors who know the costs of the services provided if they are attached to a hospital clinic other than the office visit. No matter how many times I asked, they could not tell me (I had no insuramce at the time).
We do waste too much resource on healthcare because it is loose cannon with little to control it and provide a better outcome for patients.
Hi Steve:
Right Topic and Wrong Conclusion.
“Today, our health care system leaves major consumer needs unmet, costs unchecked and basic practices untouched by the productivity revolution that has transformed every other sector of our economy. The Business Roundtable Health Care Value Index should add to the urgency felt by all major U.S. stakeholders to stimulate faster improvement in the performance of America’s health care system. We can do better. The global competitiveness of U.S. employers and workers depends on it.
‘When we spend more to get less, we all lose – workers, employers and the government. For America to succeed in today’s international economy, we must address the issue of health care value.'”
That last line is the clincher as it does adddress the issue being addressed in the ACA today which could have been accomplished through a better act. It is a start though and a far better one than leaving it to the private industry to provide a solution. In the past we were not getting better outcomes or values from the dollars being spent on healthcare by private citizens or employees. And the rising cost of healthcare and healthcare insurance has done little to insure the patient receives the best of care or the best outcome.
I have yet to see a heart attack victim or someone with pneumonia (myself once) ask to be taken to the best hospital in each of the instances because they had information this was the best place to go. Neither have I met many doctors who know the costs of the services provided if they are attached to a hospital clinic other than the office visit. No matter how many times I asked, they could not tell me (I had no insuramce at the time).
We do waste too much resource on healthcare because it is loose cannon with little to control it and provide a better outcome for patients.
The BR wants to shift more health care costs to the taxpayers and then will lobby for more tax cuts for big business, letting everyone else pay the bill.
uh, Steve
some of us have been trying to tell you that Obamacare was pro-business.
the roundtable plan is remarkable: cut costs, use the savings to fund care for the poor.
so where’s the savings?
better to just put everyone in the same pool with a dedicated tax, say a reasonable percent of income, with the understanding that the “excess” paid by the rich goes to help the “deficit” paid by the poor.
if we are all in it together and “own” the plan, we may be able to lobby for better ways to hold costs down that the present owners wouldn’t like. i can think of a few.
“To improve U.S. competitiveness, we must make fundamental changes in our health care system to get more value.”
One brief sentence from the Roundtable Executive Summary, but one which, I think, exposes the cynical nature of the concern expressed in that report. No one would argue with the goal of improving health care given the money being spent on such care industry wide. Is the goal to improve the care or simply reduce the cost of health care? It isn’t at all clear from the report itself.
And exactly how does reducing health care cost make the US more competitive? Note that the two country groups with which our health care system is compared are extremely different from one another. It is generally agreed that the G5 coountries provide a high level of health care for much less cost than does the US. The figure cited in the report is 63% less. On the other hand what does the comparison with the BIC three tell us? Health care costs are 15% of that in the US. What about level and quality of care? Who is it that is running off the China or India for health care. And is the health care available to all residents of those countries equal? I’d be interested to know the cost of health care to the top 5% of those countries measured by income?
Let’s assume that health care in the US were made 30% less costly across the board. How exactly does that make our business community more competitive with the BIC countries which would still enjoy a significantly lower cost of such care? Cut China out of the global economy and the US economy would prosper. Cut out all imports from countries with grossly exploited workers and the US economy would prosper even more so. We need more affordable health care, but that’s not the cause of the economic stress that the US currently is suffering. Our labor force is being beaten down by global exploitation of other workers. Many US businesses are enjoying profitability as a direct result of that exploitation. Reducing employer health care costs has been going on for years now. Workers are paying for it through increased employee contribution to the premium costs and reduced quality of insurance coverage. The cost of health care needs to be controlled in a meaningful way, but not for the purpose of improving corporate profitability. That’s an improvement that never reaches the employees.
Jack:
Healthcare Insurance is part of the Overhead.
Yeah – this might just be more emotional arm waving, but – so is a CEO’s salary at >100 x the salary of the average worker.
Not to mention that profits are at levels not seen in decades.
JzB
The point is, however, that the reduction of health care costs is being portrayed as a business competitive edge issue. It is not, especially when cross national costs are being compared with global competitors who are not likely providing any reasonable level of care for their workers. An 85% cost advantage isn’t something to aim at in order to compete with global trade partners. The comparison with the G5 countries where their costs are still a significant 65% of ours is more to the point, that good health care can be had at a lower cost. Not for the purpose of improving profits, but for the purpose of improving the value of employer provided health care coverage as part of employee compensation as well as reducing private pay health care costs.
They had their chance 3 years ago, they did all they could to prevent a better system to happen. Looking back now, I believe Obama and the Democrats knew they could not get more than was approved in Romney’s Massachusetts. Kennedy went along believing a little is better than nothing, Romney had vetoed some six parts of the bill and the legislature killed his vetos.
They know what could have been done. For beginners they could have enrolled all lower and lower middle class people in Medicare and collect premiums based on income, just like SS. We would have had a much bigger pool with younger and healthier people included.
The private sector does want the young and wealthy, that is where the profit is, and they made sure it stays that way.
Health care is expensive for the wealthy Europeans too, still they provide more with a lot less.Now they come and whine as if they had nothing at all to do with our messy system.
Spiegel has an article about a 1.99 billion Euro surplus in the national health insurance business. One party, the FDP, is contemplating to cancel the praxis fee of about 10Euro pro calender quarter which patients pay to visit the doctor, no matter how often.