I was on a US Airways flight over the holidays. I was flipping through their magazine and couldn’t help but notice a special section advertising world-class healthcare offered at Mount Sinai hospital in New York and the hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Both ads were touting sophisticated and unique medical services and procedures. While that is admirable, I could not stop thinking about the millions of people without access to healthcare who will never experience this level of care.
So here is my suggestion for President Obama and those crafting healthcare legislation for him.
Why are we pouring resources into these major healthcare centers when so many people don’t have even basic health services? In my home state of South Carolina, there are areas that seem like a third world country to me when it comes to healthcare.
It is time that we get our priorities straight. We need to redirect money and resources from world-class healthcare centers and put those resources toward preventative care and chronic care initiatives. This would begin to help those who really need just the basics when it comes to healthcare. This resource allocation decision is not right versus wrong, but right versus right in order to obtain the proper balance.
Everyone is too concerned about their own self interests, which is normal. Doctors and hospitals are looking out for their own financial welfare. But I really doubt that the market can solve this problem because it’s all about how the money flows.
Wouldn’t it be interesting if government leaders would offer financial incentives to hospitals and reward them for offering preventative care instead of rewarding them for the amount of surgeries they do in any given year?
Mr. Obama has a real chance to change the playing field here. Altering the flow of government funding and rewarding hospitals for implementing preventative care programs will be essential to achieve success. Don’t you agree?
Kester Freeman blogs regularly at Action for Better Healthcare.