The unexpected happened and Massachusetts elected a Republican to the Senate seat long held by Democratic lion, Ted Kennedy.  Beyond the far-reaching implications for BOTH parties as to how this instructs them to respond the electorate, Scott Brown’s election breaks the fragile 60 vote Democratic Caucus in the Senate, putting healthcare reform as we have come to know it in dire peril.

Many, including myself, do not think that this is a bad thing necessarily. What if we had to start from scratch?  What if we unraveled all the convoluted provisions and the waivers and side deals connected to them and created a bill that truly reflected the needs of patients and healthcare practitioners?  What would this look like?  We’ve come so far away from first principles that it may be hard to recall or recapture, but here’s my short list.

1. Real cost savings – Few things actually reduce overall costs in healthcare rather than just shift them.  A new healthcare bill should include a) Medical malpractice reform, and b) Payment based on a coordinated care model.
2. Expanded coverage – We will never get to 100% without automatic universal coverage so stop using that as a goal if we don’t plan to go that far.  We would be able to get closer, more easily by raising the income and category limits on Medicaid and lower age limits to buy into Medicare.  Incentives for small businesses, tax deduction for individual coverage, and allowing children to stay on their parents policies until age 26 would make a significant difference.
3. Meaningful coverage – accept the insurance company proffer to eliminate pre-existing conditions, guarantee issue, remove lifetime caps, etc.
4. Improved quality – See 1 and add supporting practices of all sizes to adopt and use electronic medical records (with patient access to their data) and accelerated translation (uptake and adoption) of evidence-based medicine.

Then walk away. Put the pen down. Leave the exchanges, mandates, Louisiana Purchase, state opt-outs in the dust bin of history and bask in the feeling of getting something done.

Related posts

• What We Can Learn About Health Reform from GE’s Robert Galvin MD (0)
• Profiles in Courage 2010 Edition (6)
• Patient-Owned Health Delivery System in Alaska (1)
• A Patient’s Principles for Healthcare Reform (0)
• What Should A Patient Sound Like? (1)
• From Health Insurance to Health Plan – A Patient’s View (0)
• Franken Bill Presupposes Doctors and Patients are Stupid (0)