Health, Biomedical Science and Society Initiative
Health, Biomedical Science and Society Initiative
Health Stewardship Project News Releases
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Aspen Institute Unveils New Coalition on Health Reform Aspen Institute Issues White Paper on 'The Responsible Path to a Healthier Nation' Presidential Candidates’ Health Care Plans Lack Key Reform Elements, Aspen Institute Finds Poll Indicates a Majority of Americans Believe Increased Access to Health Care is Not Enough; Aspen Health Stewardship Project Provides Means for Presidential Candidates to Reframe Health Care Reform Christine Todd Whitman, Joe Hogan Join Mark Ganz to Lead Aspen Institute Health Stewardship Project Aspen Institute Project Targets Broader Health Care Stewardship Presidential Candidates’ Health Care Plans Lack Key Reform Elements, Aspen Institute Finds WASHINGTON, D.C. ? An analysis by the Aspen Institute has found gaps in the health care reform plans of Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton, John McCain and Barrack Obama even as each of the three offers thoughtful proposals that hold the promise of improving health care in the United States. The Institute’s analysis is based on a detailed questionnaire submitted to each campaign. The questionnaire and the principles that guided the analysis were developed by the bipartisan Aspen Health Stewardship Project. The Project’s work is guided by leaders from the public, private and nonprofit sectors dedicated to improving the health care system. The Project’s core principles, the questionnaire and the full response by each candidate can be found on the Project’s Web site, www.AspenHealthStewardship.org. “While the candidates have clearly focused on the issue and have proposed different approaches, no one plan takes into account all of the core principles we think are needed to build a healthier nation,” said Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey and one of the Project co-chairs. “We’re calling on the candidates to target not just the symptoms of our nation’s broken health care system but the root causes as well.” Even as they affirmed the importance of the Project’s core principles, the candidates failed to fully grasp the fundamental changes required to transform the nation’s ailing health care system. This was apparent even in basic questions, such as: Question: How will you define and measure the success of your health proposals and their impact on health outcomes?
“If we’re going to create a just, effective and sustainable health care system, we need to begin by having a debate on terms that will get us there, and that means discussing more than access and cost,” said Project Co-Chair Mark Ganz, president and CEO of Regence BlueCross BlueShield. “This far into the campaign season, the candidates should be able to offer more detailed descriptions of their plans and how they will put them into action.” The lack of clear solutions for meaningful reform was evident throughout the responses. For instance, the candidates did not fully consider the role of patients as drivers of their own health, did not offer facts to back up their assertions, and did not describe how they would improve key programs. Examples include: Question: What will you do to ensure that health information is readily accessible, meaningful and accurate so that it helps people make decisions and take action?
Question: How would your health care system promote greater equity of health outcomes among men and women of different races, income levels and geographic locales?
Question: What will you do to encourage innovation in biomedical research, the science of prevention and the delivery of care? How will you promote the use of these advanced technologies to improve health?
“It is important for our next President to lead our nation to true health care reform, and this will be possible only when these complex issues are discussed fully with the public,” said Project Director Dr. Michelle McMurry. “While we give great credit to the candidates for affirming that change needs to be made, we hope that there will be more in-depth discussion so that when one of these candidates is sworn in, he or she can pass a reform proposal that addresses all of the problems in our health care system.” Launched in October 2007, the Aspen Health Stewardship Project seeks to bring about a more multi-dimensional national conversation on what it will take to transform our health care system into a system that is affordable, sustainable and delivers quality health care to every American. The Project co-chairs are Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey and founder of the Whitman Strategy Group; Mark Ganz, president and CEO of Regence BlueCross BlueShield; Elizabeth Teisberg, associate professor of the Darden Graduate School of Business and co-author of Redefining Health Care; and Joe Hogan, president and CEO of GE Healthcare. The Project also features an advisory board of top physicians, scholars, health policy experts and information technology leaders. --End-- Poll Indicates a Majority of Americans Believe Increased Access to Health Care is Not Enough; Many Favor Major Reforms UTICA, New York – A new Aspen Institute/Zogby Interactive survey indicates that most Americans believe increased access to health care is not enough to improve health outcomes. The results of this poll show that almost half of all respondents (45%) believe universal health insurance would not improve American’s health and 48% reported having suffered themselves or having known someone who has suffered an illness, injury, or death that they believe could have been prevented by better health care. The rate is highest among African-Americans (63%) and those with household incomes below $25,000 (56%). Further, a majority of those surveyed (58%) agree that Americans with unhealthy lifestyles should pay more for health care and almost half of all respondents cite either providing preventative health care to all Americans (48%) or having access to more affordable health insurance (47%) as the top earmarks of successful reform. Americans overwhelmingly support rewarding those who make healthy lifestyle choices – 80% agree with establishing financial incentives, such as lower health insurance premiums, deductibles or co-payments, to help people adopt a healthier lifestyle, the new Aspen Institute/Zogby poll shows. The Aspen Institute commissioned the poll in conjunction with the Aspen Health Stewardship project, a bipartisan initiative to reframe and broaden the national dialogue on health care reform leading up to the 2008 presidential election and beyond. The project seeks to educate voters and policymakers and help chart the wisest course in reforming our nation’s system of health care. Information on the project can be obtained at www.AspenHealthStewardship.org. In addition to strong support for making healthy lifestyle choices more personally rewarding, more than three in four Americans (78%) said they believe those who make poor health choices should be held responsible for them. Despite support for lifestyle accountability, just 29% would favor assessing financial penalties for Americans who fail to improve their health, such as fines for smoking or “fat taxes.” Among those who would support penalizing those who fail to improve their health, nearly two-thirds (64%) would agree exceptions should be made for people with a family predisposition. The survey shows the vast majority of Americans believe they personally have a great deal of control over their own health – (93%) said they agree with the statement “I am in charge of my health. By making healthy choices, by reading the labels on my medicines and by asking my doctors questions about the treatments they prescribe, I determine my health and well being more than anybody else.” More than half (52%) said they strongly agree with this statement. The interactive survey of 8,218 adults nationwide was conducted May 1-5, 2008, and carries a margin of error of +/- 1.1 percentage points. The survey also finds strong support for access to information that can help Americans make decisions about their health:
Extending healthy years more important than longevity for most Americans The survey also shows the vast majority of Americans are focused on extending their healthy years, as opposed to living as long as possible – 91% said how long they live a healthy life is more important than longevity, with nearly half (47%) who strongly agree. More than half of Americans (55%) believe universal health insurance – through either public or private insurance, through a group or as an individual – would improve Americans’ health, and more than one in three (35%) believe it would strongly improve the health of Americans. The vast majority (71%) believe health insurance ensures that they and their family will receive the care they need when they need it. Although most believe health insurance will give them access to care, 57% also said they don’t believe health insurance alone makes health care affordable. While 47% would consider having access to more affordable health insurance a success in reforming the U.S. health care system, 48% would define a successful health care reform as a system that provides preventative health care to all Americans. More than half of Americans (56%) said they are concerned that they or someone in their family may not be able to get appropriate medical care – 29% said they are very concerned about this possibility. Nearly half (48%) said they or someone they know has suffered an illness, injury or death that they believe could have been prevented by better health care. Nearly half (49%) said they spend too much on health care for themselves and their family and even more (54%) believe the United States spends too much money on health care. Most (54%) said they would not be willing to pay higher taxes so that everyone can have health insurance, although 46% said they would be willing to take on a tax increase if everyone was covered by health insurance. When asked about paying higher taxes so all children under the age of 18 can have health insurance, 56% would be willing to do so. --End-- Aspen Institute to Release Presidential Candidates’ Responses To Health Care Reform Questionnaire; New Zogby Poll Findings also to be Released WASHINGTON, D.C. ? On Wednesday, May 14th, the Aspen Institute Health Stewardship Project will release the responses from the presidential candidates, John McCain, Barack Obama, and Hillary Rodham Clinton, to a questionnaire on health care reform. The project’s director and co-chairs will provide analysis of the candidates’ responses and discuss the findings of a related, newly commissioned poll by Zogby International. The co-chairs will comment on where the candidates hit the mark and where they fall short. Representatives from the campaigns also have been invited to speak. Briefing details are as follows: WHO: Michelle McMurry, MD, PhD Christine Todd Whitman Robert Honigberg, MD, MBA Elizabeth Teisberg, PhD WHEN: Wednesday, May 14, at Noon WHERE: U.S. Senate Russell Office Building, Room 385 RSVP: Please contact Noah Bartolucci at noah.bartolucci@aspeninstitute.org. Lunch will be provided. BACKGROUND: Launched in October 2007, the Aspen Health Stewardship Project is a bipartisan initiative tasked with reframing and broadening the national dialogue on health care reform leading up to the 2008 presidential election and beyond. The project co-chairs are Whitman, Ganz, Teisberg and Joe Hogan, president and CEO of GE Healthcare. The project also features an advisory board of top physicians, scholars, health policy experts and information technology leaders. For more information, visit www.AspenHealthStewardship.com. --End-- Aspen Health Stewardship Project Provides Means for Presidential Candidates to Reframe Health Care Reform; Bipartisan Leaders Release Principles and Questionnaire, Discuss Why Access Is Not Enough WASHINGTON, D.C. ? Shifting the focus of health care reform to the root causes of the broken system, The Aspen Institute Health Stewardship Project today released its core principles and a related questionnaire designed to better evaluate the proposed reform policies of presidential candidates and policymakers. Speaking at the National Press Club, the project co-chairs urged candidates, policymakers and the public to use the principles and questions as a means to identify and address what truly ails the nation’s health care system. “Access is not enough,” Christine Todd Whitman, former New Jersey governor and project co-chair, said of the current debate. “We must have a multi-dimensional dialogue and focus on the long-term, fundamental issues that will need to be considered if we are to truly transform our health care system.” Launched this past fall, the project is an initiative by the Aspen Institute to reframe and broaden the national dialogue on health care reform leading up to the 2008 presidential election and beyond. Consistent with the institute’s history and ideals, the project has convened a bipartisan group of thought leaders to inform the nation’s efforts to transform health care. Project co-chair Mark Ganz, president and CEO of Regence BlueCross BlueShield, said that charting the most effective course for health care reform requires that the United States acknowledge and address the system’s cultural barriers, some of which protect the status quo at the expense of patients. “Health care delivery must be reorganized and prioritized to suit patients, not the industry,” Ganz said. “Only by shifting the culture of control underlying our health care system can we make meaningful progress toward a system that is affordable, sustainable and delivers quality health care to every American.” The project is chaired by Gov. Whitman, Ganz and Joe Hogan, president and CEO of GE Healthcare. In addition to the co-chairs, the project features a 10-person advisory board, including doctors, scholars, health policy experts and information technology leaders. The project also is supported by a team of faculty researchers from the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. An important part of successful reform also includes a shift within the United States to an emphasis on early health as opposed to focusing on the treatment of late-stage disease, Hogan said. “Reforms must address medical errors, inefficiencies and the tendency to focus on treatment of late disease,” Hogan said. “All of these problems will only get worse if the focus remains exclusively on universal access to the health care system without other change initiatives.” The project will provide the principles and questions to the presidential candidates in the coming days and ask them to respond within one month. The responses will be published on the project’s Web site and shared in other public forums, including at the Aspen Health Forum. “The Aspen Health Stewardship Project seeks to encourage Americans to approach our nation’s shared health resources in the same way that people prioritize stewardship of the environment,” said Dr. Michelle McMurry, project director. “The stewardship project picks up where the access debate leaves off and aims to give Americans a fresh perspective and the tools they need to take charge of their own health.” The Aspen Institute, founded in 1950, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue. Through seminars, policy programs, conferences and leadership development initiatives, the Institute and its international partners seek to promote nonpartisan inquiry and an appreciation for timeless values. The Institute is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Its international network includes partner Aspen Institutes in Berlin, Rome, Lyon, Tokyo, New Delhi, and Bucharest, and leadership programs in Africa, Central America and India. --End-- Christine Todd Whitman, Joe Hogan Join Mark Ganz to Lead Aspen Institute Health Stewardship Project WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Aspen Institute has named Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey and Joe Hogan, president and CEO of GE Healthcare, as co-chairs of the Aspen Health Stewardship Project. They join Mark Ganz, president and CEO of Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield, in leading the new project to help transform health care. Launched this past fall, the project is a major initiative to reframe and broaden the national dialogue on health care reform leading up to the 2008 presidential election and beyond. The project is developing principles to help chart the wisest course for the nation’s reform efforts and questions to pose to the presidential candidates, all of which will be published, along with the candidates’ responses. “We’re calling on the candidates and the public at large to prioritize stewardship of our shared health resources in the same sense that we prioritize stewardship of the environment,” Gov. Whitman said. In addition to the co-chairs, the project features an advisory board that includes doctors, scholars, health policy experts and information technology thought leaders. The full list of advisory board members is provided below. The project also is supported by a team of research faculty from the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. Ganz, who helped conceive of the project, said it seeks to expand the health care debate to address not just the symptoms but the root causes of the nation’s broken system. “One of our main goals is to prompt the candidates to consider how to address the shortcomings of the health care system beyond the issue of universal access,” Ganz said. “Only by shifting the culture underlying our health care system can we make real progress toward a system that is affordable and sustainable, and that delivers quality- and customer-oriented health care to every American.” Project Director Michelle McMurry said that as the presidential candidates consider how to improve the nation’s health care system and debate the relative merits of their proposals, they must bear in mind that “access is not enough.” “The stewardship project picks up where the insurance debate leaves off and aims to give Americans the tools they need to take charge of their own health,” Dr. McMurry said. Among other topics, the advisory board’s initial discussions have addressed the need for the nation to get serious about prevention; the importance of early detection of disease to enable more successful treatment; the implementation of electronic medical records; the rationale for transparency throughout the health care system; and the importance of measuring programs and treatment approaches, and finding ways to reward the most successful among them. For more information on the Aspen Health Stewardship Project, contact Noah Bartolucci, project communications director, at (202) 736-2536 or noah.bartolucci@aspeninstitute.org. What follows is the project advisory board. Adam Bosworth, founder and CEO, Keas Inc. * Co-Chairs --End-- Aspen Institute Project Targets Broader Health Care Stewardship WASHINGTON, D.C.— The Aspen Institute is convening a prominent group of thought leaders and health policy experts to launch a major initiative to reframe and broaden the national dialogue on health care reform leading up to the 2008 presidential election and beyond. The Aspen Health Stewardship Project will expand the health care debate to the root causes of the nation’s broken system, not just the symptoms. The initiative will go beyond the question of how to expand coverage and will redirect efforts toward addressing the deep structural problems that plague the health care system. As part of this effort, a series of non-partisan tools will be created to help the public evaluate health care reform proposals as they are presented. “Our objective is to drive health care reform toward the creation of a sustainable economic and care model that will best serve the needs of all Americans,” said Dr. Michelle McMurry, project director and director of the Institute’s Health, Biomedical Science and Society policy program. “In order for any reform effort to succeed, we need to address the cultural dynamics that perpetuate the current system. It’s time to move away from blame and to focus on what we can all do to make our country healthier. “To help foster a greater emphasis on personal and shared responsibility in health care, the project will also address the roles that businesses, government and individuals must play in the stewardship of our shared health resources,” Dr. McMurry added. The initiative launched today will be chaired by Mark Ganz, president and chief executive officer of Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield, a large nonprofit health plan serving the northwest and intermountain states. Other members include Joseph Hogan, president and chief executive officer of GE Healthcare; Michael E. Porter, the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard Business School; Elizabeth Teisberg, Associate Professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business; Dr. Robert Honigberg, chief medical officer of GE Healthcare; John Parr, co-founder of Civic Results; Franklin Raines, vice chairman of the Board of Revolution Health Group; and Craig Fuller, executive vice president of APCO Worldwide. The roster of participants will be completed next month and is expected to consist of about 20 business and health policy leaders. “The horizon for this initiative extends beyond the presidential election,” said Ganz, who along with Dr. McMurry conceived of the project. “Only by shifting the culture underlying our health care system can we make real progress toward a system that is affordable and sustainable, and delivers quality- and customer-oriented health care to every American.” The group will outline the essential framework and elements of an effective health care reform proposal, and this is expected to be complete in early 2008. Shortly thereafter the project will invite representatives from the presidential campaigns to take part in briefings aimed at sharing the group’s conclusions. Ganz will introduce the project on Saturday at the inaugural Aspen Health Forum in Aspen, Colorado, a gathering of more than 400 people, including Nobel Prize laureates, prominent officials from the National Institutes of Health, and other thought leaders in medical science, health care and health policy. For more information on the Aspen Health Stewardship Project, contact Noah Bartolucci, communications director of the Institute’s Health, Biomedical Science and Society policy program, at 202/736-2536 (office), 202/906-0157 (cell), or noah.bartolucci@aspeninstitute.org. The Aspen Institute, founded in 1950, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering enlightened leadership and open-minded dialogue. Through seminars, policy programs, conferences and leadership development initiatives, the Institute and its international partners seek to promote nonpartisan inquiry and an appreciation for timeless values. The Institute is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Its international network includes partner Aspen Institutes in Berlin, Rome, Lyon, Tokyo, New Delhi, and Bucharest, and leadership programs in Africa, Central America and India. --End-- |
