Issue Position: Health Care

Issue Position

I have thought long and hard about this and I am convinced that a single payor system is the only credible solution. There are obviously pros and cons.

However, in order for this to occur, health care costs have to come down. Health care costs of about 16% of GDP, rising at a rate that exceeds inflation, and projected to be about 19.5% of GDP in five years is unsustainable. Our health care costs as percent of GDP is highest among the developed nations. Moreover, health care value where value = service, divided by cost, is among the worst. These are little known facts but that does not make them less true, however we might wish otherwise.

There is no doubt that a major overhaul of the health care system is needed. In my view, necessary changes include quality and "quantity" control of medical services, malpractice reform, judicious use of emergency services, overhaul of medical training, standards of timeliness of elective procedures, ongoing engagement of the pharmaceutical industry, and overall a cultural change over time.

A robust, solvent health care system benefits everybody -pharma, health care providers, and society.

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