Well, the Medicine Man has been there before. This is the third time in 25 years I have seen a well-intentioned attempt to change this nation’s health care system get off the tracks. The first two were derailed, but this effort still can be salvaged.
In my humble opinion, the President and the Congress must stop strong-arming the groups that have a vested interest in reform and persuade them to put forward meaningful ideas that will save dollars and improve the quality of care. And shame on Congress for continuing to make its public policy decisions behind closed doors with little input from the stakeholders.
Who here doesn’t remember the photo ops of these groups at the White House allegedly agreeing to everything and anything the Administration and Congress proposed? The leaders of these groups looked more like prisoners of war than allies.
The Medicine Man calls on all parties to come to the table and work out a reform plan in a transparent process that the patients can understand and accept. Come on, let’s be a team.
