The long wait for health care reform continues.
And in light of the just-released Colorado Health Report Card by the Colorado Health Foundation, the wait here is especially untenable for our children.
As I shared with state legislators earlier this month, the Report Card documents that we are losing ground in the fight to address our children’s health, dropping from an already poor C- to a dismal D+. Among the childhood indicators, the most dramatic drop was in the area of childhood obesity, where the state fell from third in the country to 23rd. In addition, the state ranks 45th in the number of children without health insurance, and 34th in the number of children who participate in regular vigorous activity.
These deplorable children’s health rankings form half of the “Colorado Paradox,” the other half being our well-educated, largely transplanted and comparatively healthy adult population. It is this adult half of the “Colorado Paradox” that leads people to believe Colorado is among the healthiest places in the country. But our children’s poor health makes it clear that is not the case.
If we are to help ensure a bright future for our country, a future that our children will shape, with good health as their essential resource, the long wait for substantive health care reform must end.
Consistent with the three priorities laid out by The Colorado Health Foundation — healthy living, health coverage, and health care — I urge reform measures that address the flaws in the insurance marketplace and change the way health care is delivered, while at the same time improving the Colorado Health Report Card indicators specific to children. Only then will Coloradans be assured they can receive the right care at the right time in the right place.
Both the House and Senate health care reform bills include numerous provisions designed to improve how health care is delivered. Unprecedented investments are made in prevention and wellness programs so that people can avoid more serious — and more costly — acute care. These measures also would pilot and, if proven successful, implement new programs to encourage coordination among caregivers so that unnecessary costs (ranging from duplicated tests to avoidable hospital re-admissions) can be reduced.
In addition, and of particular importance to children’s health, federal health care reform takes significant steps to address the widespread shortage of primary care providers through medical school education incentives and improved reimbursement for primary care providers, to name but two.
Other programs and payment reforms in these legislative proposals would align the financial incentives of providers with the health interests of their patients. Whereas now our fee-for-service payment system rewards the delivery of more care, the reforms in these bills will reward providers who can improve quality and reduce costs. Some of these programs, including accountable care organizations, patient-centered medical homes, and value-based purchasing have significant potential to reduce costs and improve quality.
Similarly, proposed health insurance reforms contained in these bills are important and far-reaching. Imperfections aside, they would finally end the regressive practice of rescinding health coverage when it is needed most, denying coverage — even to infants — based on pre-existing conditions, and pricing individuals out of the health care system based on their health needs. Furthermore, both the House and Senate health reform packages include important administrative simplification provisions that would reduce the clerical burden on providers, patients and health plans, and lead to greater accuracy and efficiency in the overall administration of care.
I applaud the health care reform work being performed by members of Congress with the help of experts from across the health care spectrum. I also applaud the efforts of the Ritter administration and members of the Colorado legislature. At the same time, I urge these leaders to continue moving forward and to resist the temptation to “kick the can” of substantive health care reform down the road yet again. For the sake of the health and well-being of this nation, this most important work must continue.
Just as the Colorado Health Foundation remains committed to Colorado becoming the healthiest state in the nation, we call on our elected representatives in Washington and in Colorado to maintain their will to enact substantive health care reform.
Anne Warhover is president and CEO of the Colorado Health Foundation.
