Obama Addresses Congress

Hopefully, many of you either watched or have read the President's Healthcare Reform address. In particular, it was very interesting to me as he discussed the proposed insurance market place. Consider this market place in relation to the German Sickness Fund system. While the details on the Insurance Market place are few, there do seem to be some similarities in how they would function. Keeping costs down through competition for subscribers is just one of those similarities. As you can learn from watching the Frontline "Sick Around the World" video clips (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/countries/), we have much to learn from the way in which other countries conduct the business of health care -- a single payor plan is NOT the only option and is not likely an option that would adequately meet the diverse needs of the American public.

However, though the details on the how the overall plan would function are few, the details on the methods of paying for a revised system are also few. In his speech, President Obama referred to trimming the waste from existing programs and, in my opinion, if done correctly, this could result in millions of saved dollars. As an RN care coordinator, I have too often seen an insurance company reject payment for the lower cost option (for example in home intravenous antibiotics) but approved payment for the same treatment to be provided as an inpatient stay -- at a MUCH higher price. Reviewing acceptance criteria and reviewing the existing insurance regulations to better reflect evidence based practice is needed to move forward with healthy healthcare reform.

If you did not see or read the speech, see the link below. You can watch the address, read the address and see an outline of the plan.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/health_care/