WASHINGTON – Healthcare leaders are optimistic that President-elect Barack Obama will follow through on his pledge to expand access to care and commit $50 billion over five years to advance healthcare IT adoption.
Glen Tullman, CEO of Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, was pleased with Obama’s win, and not just because of the promise of healthcare reform.
"This is truly a historic moment for our country, and for the world as well," he said of the nation’s newly elected 44th president, and the first African American to achieve that honor. "Obama is good for America and good for healthcare."
Tullman, who served on Obama's campaign healthcare advisory panel, anticipates the new president will emphasize the use of electronic tools to improve quality and reduce healthcare costs.
Meanwhile, key Congressional leaders say they are "ready to roll" on passing healthcare reform legislation early in 2009.
Michael Myers, a staff member for Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), said key Democratic Congressional leaders have been laying groundwork since summer on healthcare legislation in anticipation of Obama's victory. Their plan is to draft a single bill as soon as possible, using Obama's blueprint.
Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said healthcare won’t take a back seat in the 111th Congress.
"We have won an election. We now have to proceed to govern," he said.
A group of organizations, including the Business Roundtable, AARP, National Federation of Independent Business and Service Employees International Union, are calling on Obama to address the healthcare crisis quickly.
In an open letter, the groups urged Obama and Congress to build on the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), encourage preventive care and advance the adoption of healthcare IT, among other reforms.
"Now that this grueling two-year campaign is over, the hardest work still lies ahead," said AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond. She said addressing skyrocketing healthcare costs is a critical component of stabilizing household, national and global economies.
According to Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, 73 percent of the voters who chose Obama said healthcare was their top priority.
"On no single issue was there a greater discrepancy on how people voted," he said. "Healthcare unavoidably is going to be on the national agenda."