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Health Care Reform
A rational, reformed health care system, based on the principle of required universal coverage, can only be effective when it is conceived as a societal obligation and on a national scale. The question is not “where is the political will to do more than just tweak the system,” but where is our will to do more?
The key to developing an effective system lies deeper than just dealing with the mechanics of improving our health care system. It lies in the American psyche. America is often described as a nation of individualists: We don’t like taxes, we don’t like handouts, and we admire those who fend for themselves. But health care is not something that we can take on individually – it’s something that we need to address collectively as a nation, and that is what has been lacking in the health care debate.
We need to take a good, introspective look at ourselves, the people we are, and the people we wish to become. The path to successful health care reform must begin with care. Only by caring about each other can we learn how best to care for each other.
--Dr. Steven A. Wartman, AAHC President and CEO
Listen to More
AAHC Podcast Series:
Changing the Psyche and the System
As health consumers pour over confusing stacks of bills and insurance forms, they hear about looming shortages of health professionals in the face of a growing and aging population. It seems that nearly everyone agrees that something has to be done.
The Role of Academic Health Centers in Health Care Reform
Leading health experts and analysts, as well as academic health center leaders and key opinion-makers examined and debated the dimensions of academic health center leadership involvement in health care reform during AAHC’s Annual Meeting.