Employees are suffering through a progressive reduction of choice of both physicians and health plans. Widespread dissatisfaction with the system has led to a clamor for even greater regulation of the system. Think about it. Yet, in an era of unprecedented prosperity, the number of uninsured is escalating significantly. Of the three issues of cost, access, and quality, the issue that I believe is driving the change in the country, and that has provoked so much anxiety among our people, is cost.
Patients are interested in quality of care, and physicians want to provide quality care.
However, the inability of the current system to control cost has threatened the quality of care. The most important single facet of the access problem is cost. It is true that the aging population, rapidly emerging new technologies, and the ongoing professional liability insurance crisis contribute significantly to escalating costs. Ponder several basic questions. But assuming consensus on these three points is not enough for policymaking.