Health4all : Health Care Summit

Health4all

Every year more Alaskan families lose health insurance and can't afford health care. Every year more families with health insurance cannot afford to use it because of expensive out-of-pocket charges. Every year more Alaskan elders with Medicare are refused treatment by local physicians. And every year health care in Alaska continues to cost 30 percent more than down south. These problems are a reflection of the crisis across the nation. Not surprisingly, the United States ranks last in preventable deaths compared to 14 Western European nations. We have a lot to talk about.

Lawrence D. Weiss retired from UAA in 2004 as a research professor in public health. He designed and built the Master of Public Health program at UAA, and has published three books and numerous articles on public health and health policy issues. He completed a post-doctoral degree at Harvard School of Public Health in 1982, and has been in Alaska ever since. His favorite expression is "facts matter." Occasionally he can be found in a local pub drinking beer and eating pizza while engaged in passionate conversation with friends.

Health Care Summit

Posted by health4all

Posted: March 6, 2009 - 1:48 pm

Approximately 82 health care policy stake holders, 32 House members, 23 senators, and eight "everyday Americans" convened at the White House yesterday for a health care summit, CongressDaily reports (Condon, CongressDaily 3/5). The summit included five sessions that addressed proposals including how to finance health care reform, plans to reduce health care costs, whether to establish an individual health insurance mandate, and whether to develop a public health plan that would compete with private plans.

President Obama voiced a willingness to compromise on his ideas put forth during the 2008 election campaign. Obama said, "...I put forward a plan for health care reform. I thought it was an excellent plan. But I don't presume that it was a perfect plan or that it was the best possible plan" according to a New York Times report (Pear/Stolberg, New York Times, 3/6).

Obama also drew attention to the importance of dealing with health care costs along with efforts to increase access to care. He said, "If we don't address cost, I don't care how heartfelt our efforts are, we will not get this done," (Connolly, Washington Post, 3/6).

For a more in-depth synopsis of the White House health care summit, visit the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation's Daily Health Policy Report.

posted by K.L., Project Coordinator