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“Without the Affordable Care Act, I simply could not have retired at 62.”

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Health Care Blog

  • House Call on Health Insurance Reform

    Posted by Jesse Lee on October 6, 2009 at 11:33 AM EDT

    As we discussed yesterday, the President hosted doctors from all 50 states here at the White House, coming together in a powerful testimonial to what reform is all about.
    A new video featuring interviews with many of those doctors serves as a reminder that the people at the real frontlines of the health care battle are not lobbyists or politicians invested in protecting the status quo, but are instead the people who deal with the health and well-being of our families every day and see the need for change first hand:

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    download .mp4 (52 MB)

     
    MAJOR UPDATE: If you are one of the 48 million professionals, or in particular one of the 3.6 million medical professionals who are members of LinkedIn, be sure to chime in at our new discussion page about this video. We'll be responding to the conversation in a few days. Today marks the launch of our White House Group page there, and since the entire point of engaging there is to get beyond Washington, the first thing we wanted to do was reach out about this video. So stop by, let us know what you think.

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  • Doctors from All 50 States Come to Support Health Insurance Reform

    Posted by Jesse Lee on October 5, 2009 at 3:56 PM EDT

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    It might seem merely symbolic that there were doctors from all 50 states here at the White House, but it’s symbolic of a deep truth about the health insurance reform debate. As the President said today, "when you cut through all the noise and all the distractions that are out there, I think what's most telling is that some of the people who are most supportive of reform are the very medical professionals who know the health care system best -- the doctors and nurses of America." 
    He continued:
    These men and women here would not be supporting health insurance reform if they really believed that it would lead to government bureaucrats making decisions that are best left to doctors.  They wouldn't be here today if they believed that reform in any way would damage the very critical and sacred doctor-patient relationship.
    Instead, the reason these doctors are here is because they have seen firsthand what's broken about our health care system.  They've seen what happens when their patients can't get the care they need because some insurance company has decided to drop their coverage or water it down.  They've seen what happens when a patient is forced to pay out of pocket thousands of dollars she doesn't have for treatments that she desperately needs.  They've seen what happens when patients don't come in for regular check-ups or screenings because either their insurance company doesn't cover it or they can't afford insurance in the first place.  And they've seen far too much of time that they want to devote to taking care of patients spent filling out forms and haggling with insurance companies about payments.
    So these doctors know what needs to be fixed about our health care system.  And they know that health insurance reform will do -- that it will go a long way towards making patients healthier and doctors and nurses to be able to perform that -- those tasks that are so important to them and led them into medicine in the first place.
    (President Barack Obama speaks to doctors on the health care reform in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Oct. 5, 2009. Listening to the President are, from left, Dr. Hershey Garner of Fayetteville, Ark., , Dr. Mona Mangat of St. Petersburg, Fla., Dr. Richard Evans of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, and Dr. Amanda McKinney of Beatrice, Neb. Official White House photo by Pete Souza)

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  • OMB Director Orszag on Waste in Health Care

    Posted by Jesse Lee on October 5, 2009 at 12:35 PM EDT

    A lot of people might have an intuitive skepticism towards the idea that there is enough waste in our health care system to pay for so much of the initial costs. That's understandable – too often politicians point to the nebulous cutting of "waste and abuse" as an easy out when asked how they intend to pay for something, whether it’s a new program or a tax cut.
    On the other hand, most Americans also know that, as the President has said, "We spend more than any country on Earth, and we're not any healthier for it." 
    Today OMB Director Peter Orszag, a fiscal hawk who has taken on controlling health care costs as something of a passion over the past few years, lays out the case in a blog post citing a new study out of the Institute of Medicine:
    The need for health insurance reform just became clearer with the release from the non-partisan Institute of Medicine (IOM) of an estimate that the health care system contains over $800 billion in excess costs, a number consistent with previous studies. In other words, according to this new estimate, we spend more than $800 billion a year on health care that does not make us healthier. The result is higher premiums for us all and higher costs for the government — but it also means you may receive tests and procedures that you do not need, putting your health at risk.
    According to the study, excess costs arise from a variety of sources. Excessively high administrative costs for insurers, physician and hospitals come to about $200 billion. Unnecessary services, such as using more expensive brand name drugs when generics are just as good and overusing tests and treatments compared to professional guidelines, account for another $200 billion or so. Errors and avoidable complications add $75 billion, and fraud adds another $75 billion.  Preventive measures — both in terms of keeping healthy people healthy and keeping people with chronic illness such as diabetes out of the hospital — tack on another $55 billion. And the list goes on. 
    The big question is how can we get reduce these costs?  The IOM identifies different levers to push change, including: uniform administrative requirements for paperwork; reform of payment incentives so that they are more oriented toward results and quality; increased reliance on evidence-based quality practices; the development of more independent evidence of what works and what does not work; electronic clinical records that can be shared and are privacy protected; and providing incentives for more consistent and widespread prevention interventions. As one goes down the list, almost all these changes have been endorsed by the Administration and most are included in the reform bills making their way through Congress, including the legislation currently being considered by the Finance Committee.   

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  • Word from the White House: President Obama Welcomes Doctors from Around the Country

    Posted by Jesse Lee on October 5, 2009 at 9:40 AM EDT

    It's no secret that institutions of all stripes focus their communications on certain messages day to day. We thought it would all be a little more open and transparent if we went ahead and published what our focus will be for the day, along with any related articles, reports or documents.
    Supporting Article: "Poll: Doctors Among Public Option's Biggest Fans," NPR, 9/15/09
    Related Event: "President Obama Speaks to Doctors from Across the Country," Live-streamed at WhiteHouse.gov at 11:10
     
    Talking Points: President Obama Welcomes Doctors from around the Country
    ·        Today, President Obama will welcome doctors from across the United States to the White House to share their unique perspective on the struggles that American families face every day when it comes to health care. 
    ·        These doctors know as well as anyone that inaction is no longer an option as so many people from all across America face rising costs and growing insecurity with their health insurance.
     
    ·        They have seen firsthand what's broken about our health care system.
    o   They have seen what happens when their patients can't get the care they need because their coverage has been watered down or are forced to pay thousands of dollars they don’t have for the care they need.
    o   They've seen what happens when patients can't get regular screenings or checkups, and they’ve seen far too much of their time spent on filling out forms and haggling with insurance company bureaucrats.
     
    ·        That's why they have decided to join the President in pushing for health insurance reform this year.
     
    ·        They also know that, despite the scary rumors being spread by defenders of the status quo, health insurance reform will not put government bureaucrats between doctors and patients. 
    o   They wouldn't be coming to the White House to push for reform if they thought it would damage that sacred doctor-patient relationship.
    ·        President Obama's health insurance reform plan will give Americans who have insurance unprecedented security and stability.  It will give Americans without insurance quality, affordable options.  And it will lower the cost of health care for our families, our businesses, and our government.
      

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  • Weekly Address: Health Reform Urgent for the Economy

    Posted by Jesse Lee on October 3, 2009 at 12:00 AM EDT

    The President discusses ongoing efforts to spur job creation. He also explains why health insurance reform is needed not just for long-term economic stability, but in the immediate future, discussing statistics on how costs will continue to skyrocket and hurt small businesses even next year.

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  • A 'Call to Action' from the Office of National AIDS Policy

    Posted by Jeffrey S. Crowley on October 2, 2009 at 8:51 AM EDT

    Every nine-and-a-half minutes, someone in the United States becomes infected with HIV, which results in more than 56,000 new infections each year. In addition, there are 1.2 million people in this country living with HIV/AIDS, many of whom require services and support.
    President Obama is committed to developing a coordinated, measurable and successful National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) to address the HIV epidemic in the United States.  In August, the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) launched a series of Community Discussions in 14 cities across the United States.  In an effort to reach all Americans, we are also issuing a "Call to Action: Americans Speak About HIV/AIDS" to encourage community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, schools, businesses, research institutions and other groups to hold their own discussions and submit to the ONAP website the strategic steps we could take as a nation to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
    The ONAP web site will begin accepting public input as part of the "Call to Action" on Friday, October 2, 2009, and the ONAP web site will continue to accept public input through Friday, November 13, 2009. For more information on the "Call to Action" or to submit a recommendation for the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, please visit /administration/eop/onap/action/

    Jeffrey Crowley is the Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy and Senior Advisor on Disability Policy at the White House

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