Hope, Concern, Lies & Half-truths: What the Public Really Thinks About Health ReformBack to the Blog »

July 7th, 2009

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Everywhere I turn these days I get hammered with questions about state and federal health reform initiatives.   Yesterday alone I had extensive discussions on the topic with the President of a local hospital, a state lobbyist and my buddy who is a very successful Orthopedic surgeon.  Today it was the President of growing IT consulting shop, a guy at the gym and my financial planner.  Tomorrow it will probably be the employees at a local machine shop, the head of a local health plan and my mother.

Most people I know seem to like me-my Mom, for sure–and my first instinct is to thank them for being so concerned about the future of my business and my ability to remain economically viable.  I guess I must hang with some pretty smart people, because they can see the handwriting on the wall:  with a national healthcare plan, who needs an Ovation Benefits?  Who needs a Bill Carew?

Alas, in-spite of my great charisma, wit and charm it seems that most people are actually wondering-some with hope, others with genuine concern-about how the health reform proposals being considered will affect them. What will “National Health Reform” mean for my business, my job, my doctors, my family and our health?

I am not surprised by the widespread interest in the subject-after all, we all value our health and we all access the system in some regular manner one way or another.   We care about our jobs, and high healthcare costs threaten jobs.  We care about each other, and we don’t like to see anyone go without basic medical care, and we don’t want others to go bankrupt without health insurance.

What is surprising to me is that every conversation-and I mean every single conversation– ends in the same spot.  We are all overwhelmed by the enormous complexity of the situation, the long list of stakeholders affected and the myriad of potential solutions being kicked around on Capitol Hill and in the state legislatures.  We usually end with something like this:
I understand what they are trying to accomplish, I just don’t see how they can get it done.  Every time you address one problem, you create another.

All of which is very, very true.  And it’s not just me doing the talking here, either!

What I think is most interesting is what most people are not willing say out loud, which  is that what we care most about is our own health-and the health of our family members-and we don’t want to lose the many things that are working in the system today.   Something like this:

I do care about other people-I swear.  I want them to have good insurance, I want them to have good healthcare.  But I have pretty decent coverage myself (85% of us) and I have a good job (90% of us), and I don’t want to lose either.  I am willing to help out, but I’m really tapped out financially and I can’t pick up the insurance tab for everyone.  So I am all for health reform as long as it costs me less-not more-and as long as I get to keep what’s working in the system today.

We all share the three main goals for health reform:

1. Reducing the uninsured population.
2. Controlling costs; and
3. Improving quality of care.

And the truth of the matter is that every stakeholder–from Barack Obama to my Mom to the uninsured and unemployed to the insurance company CEO to Bill Carew and even the late great Michael Jackson — agrees that the status quo is not sustainable.  Not with the competitive pressures of the global economic, the solvency of Medicare and the huge influx of Baby Boomers coming into the system and most of all because of the great opportunities presented by untapped technologies, administrative efficiencies and quality of care improvements that are clearly available to capture here and now.

What we don’t agree on is how to achieve the goals, and what we are willing to give up to attain them.  Just look at what recent public opinion polls tell us:

The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Wednesday morning (July 1, 2009) indicates that most people worry that their health care costs would go up if the administration’s proposals passed and only one in five thinks that his or her families would be better off under the Obama plan.

Fifty-one percent of people surveyed say they favor the president’s health care plan, with 45 percent opposed.

July 1, 2009 – U.S. Voters Back Public Insurance 2-1, But Won’t Use It, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; 72% Won’t Pay More Than $500 A Year To Fix Health Care.

And for some fascinating and even more confusing data, check out the slew of conflicting polls summarized at Polling Report.  Here is just a sample (all polls taken June, 2009):

ABC News/Washington Post:

• 81% Very Satisfied or Satisfied with current healthcare coverage
• 83% Very Satisfied or Satisfied with current medical care

CBS News/New York Times:

• 64% say Government should guarantee health coverage to all Americans
• 37% say that it would have a negative effect on the economy if the government guaranteed health insurance coverage for all
• 20% say that it would have a positive effect on the economy if the government guaranteed health insurance coverage for all

NBC News/Wall Street Journal:

“From what you have heard about Barack Obama’s health care plan, do you think his plan is a good idea or a bad idea?

• 33% say Good Idea
• 32% say Bad Idea

So what is the country really telling us about health reform?  Two things, as I said earlier:

1. I understand what they are trying to accomplish, I just don’t see how they can get it done.  Every time you address one problem, you create another.
2. I am all for health reform as long as it costs me less-not more-and as long as I get to keep what’s working in the system today.

President Obama understands this message, as Rahm Emmanuel and Secretary Sebelius have said regarding the public option, and we will start to see the scope of his proposals begin to narrow very, very soon.

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Posted by Bill in Healthcare Reform