Insurance for all, pay for value both necessary – scroll down to the second editorial on the Web page

Mayo Clinic believes that reforming the current health-care system is in the best interest of patients, and must be done in order to create more value and increase the quality and affordability of care for all Americans. Each major stakeholder — doctors/hospitals, patients, payers and the government — plays a key role in reform.

Specifically, we believe a successful reform measure on behalf of patients needs:

• A reimbursement system that pays for value.
• A means to insure all Americans.

Legislation must address both issues — payment reform and insurance — simultaneously.

Payment reform is about creating new ways to provide fair reimbursement to doctors and hospitals that offer high value care. Congress must send the message to health-care providers that they must start now to re-engineer care delivery models to create better value for patients, coordinate care and improve quality at a lower cost.

The current payment system needs help. It rewards volume, not value. Without this fundamental reform, we cannot fix what is broken or transform the system.

Creating value involves many things, including the standardization of some areas of medical care to “best practices,” bundling medical services, transparency of fees and a commitment to the quality, safety and service provided to patients.

Arizona Republic – Editorial by Dr. Victor F. Trastek, 09/15/09

Tags: health care reform, Health Policy, Health Policy, Mayo Clinic Arizona