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HOME > ABOUT > PRESS > HEALTH CARE CRISIS DEMANDS NEW PARADIGM
Article published - November 5, 2007
Credit: NORTHBAY BUSINESS JOURNAL
BUSINESS JOURNAL EDITORIAL: Health care crisis demands new paradigm
To say that health care in the U.S. is in need of a paradigm shift is an understatement.
Tuesday’s annual BUSINESS JOURNAL health care conference will show how that might take place and what needs to happen in the interim.
Just consider for a moment what is occurring in the North Bay. A district hospital in Sonoma County is in bankruptcy. Another major Sonoma County hospital will likely close. Marin County’s largest hospital faces a very uncertain future. The entire North Bay region – and the nation, for that matter – faces a looming shortage of doctors from primary care to oncologists because of financial and other pressures on physicians.
Health centers that service tens of thousands of under- and uninsured struggle daily to provide care.
Medical costs continue to outstrip inflation, which translates into higher premiums for everyone and many uninsured.
Many commendable efforts are under way to counter these trends, at least in the short term, including in Sacramento where the governor and Legislature are trying to reach a compromise on a health care bill. Among the speakers Tuesday is Ana Matosantos, the governor’s deputy legislative secretary, who is directly involved in the health care debate.
Meanwhile, innovative companies are paying more attention to the overall wellness of their employees, investing in health coaches, exercise programs and nutrition education.
Health insurance providers are responding with their own coaching programs that take the responsibility for wellness directly to the individual through counseling, care and monitoring.
The payoff of these programs could be huge, since roughly 75 percent of chronic conditions are preventable with lifestyle and diet changes.
Government officials and the leaders of the region’s health centers are doing their parts to preserve the level of care their communities need.
But ultimately a whole new approach to how we pay for and deliver health care will be needed. And right now, nothing is on the horizon.
The BUSINESS JOURNAL’S health care conference is from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel & Spa. Cost is $45 per person.
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