Lewis-Gale Hosts Warner for Private Healthcare Forum

Senator Warner spoke at the Lewis-Gale Medical Center on Monday.
Senator Warner spoke at the Lewis-Gale Medical Center on Monday.

“I do not believe in a single payer system,” said Senator Mark Warner. “I don’t believe that we need a totally government run system.”

Warner spoke to a group of over 150 attending a private Healthcare Forum for employees and staff members of the Lewis-Gale Medical Center Monday.  Warner said that every other advanced country in the world has taken on the issue of health care reform – noting that a lot of models are not government run.

“Many of the European countries actually have private systems, that might have some government financing, but are privately run.  They do it at costs that are less than ours with health care outcomes that are better than ours,” he said.

Warner stressed that we need competition in the private system between providers, hospitals, device manufacturers, drug makers, and insurance companies.

“I am open to anything that focuses on how we provide quality healthcare to Virginians and Americans at a way that does not break the bank and that ends up respecting people’s choices,” he said.

His first principle of health care reform is that it not add to our deficit, but that it actually starts to drive down the cost curve.  Warner believes this will take cooperation and collaboration from those in the health care field.  He said that one absolute in this debate is the current health care system’s costs are not sustainable over the next decade.

“If we do nothing, the size of the federal deficit will get so large that it will undermine the value of our dollar, will undermine our economy, and will seriously retard any ability for America to maintain its economic preeminence in the world.”  Warner also warned that if we do nothing, we would see our health care costs double over the next ten years.

Some of the health care reform advocates have made a mistake by not setting a framework out at the front end, he said, adding that one of the things he wishes the president had not done was to say that we are going to fix the health care system in one bill.

“You do not transform the healthcare system with a single piece of legislation,” said Warner.  “It does not mean that you don’t start; it does not mean you don’t try. But it is going to take continual effort to try to get this right.”

“There is not a Democrat healthcare, or a Republican healthcare, but an American healthcare system and it sure as heck will be better for Americans to accept the kind of changes if we can show bipartisan support,” Warner said.

Warner acknowledged that there are many areas of disagreement, but the debate needs to be conducted with respect and it needs to be based upon the facts.

“I have to say that in more than 20 years that I have been in politics, I have never seen an issue where there has been as much misinformation and just plain outright deceptions being promulgated by both sides,” said Warner. “That’s unfortunate, because fixing and getting health care right in this country deserves serious, rational, factual based discussion.”

The millionaire had other ideas: moving away from a health care system that is based upon a volume of tests, procedures, and drugs prescribed – to one based upon the health care outcome and new financial incentives promoting prevention and wellness. Warner wants to see a health care delivery system that practices a team holistic approach; a system that can extend coverage and take on insurance reforms so that pre-existing conditions are not an obstacle; and medical malpractice/tort reform.  Coming from an IT background himself, he believes in using the tools of technology better.

“The only profession that has not been totally transformed by information technology is the health care field,” he said.

Warner spoke about corporate health care reform that has already been taking place in this country over the last seven to eight years but has not been a major part of the discussion.  He cited Safeway Food Stores and Delta Airlines as two examples of companies who have driven down the cost of employee health care premiums by offering incentives to those who do not smoke and live healthier lifestyles.  Warner said that reform needs to include a serious conversation about adverse behavior, claiming 70 percent of health care costs in this country are due to chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, both of which can be related to eating and lifestyle habits.

He also believes that it is time to start having honest conversations about aging and end of life issues. “It is not a political discussion: it is a medical, a religious, a moral, and ethical discussion.  It’s not about taking away an individual’s choice or their options.”

When Senator Warner took questions from those attending the forum, one from Dr. Charles Gilliland received overwhelming applause.

“What if congress and the executive branch were to consider putting themselves under the same medical coverage system as the rest of us,” Gilliland asked.

Warner said that he agreed, and laughter erupted from the crowd when he asked, “Does anyone else?”

The Senator went on to speak about the health care program that Congress currently has, Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.  He explained that it is a health care exchange where they can choose from about twenty different private plans based on what is best for their families.

“I think that providing that same kind of choice for all Americans makes a lot of sense.  You have different systems competing with each other,” he said.

One member of the audience questioned a mid September deadline, not taking the time to have more in depth discussion. Warner talked about a Senate procedure called “reconciliation” where if a bill is budget related, it can be passed with 51 votes as opposed to the usual 60 typically needed for legislation. That would make it easier for Democrats to pass health care reform. Warner said there is a strict time line that was passed as part of the budget bill and the tipping point is mid September; it is an arbitrary deadline that was not set by the administration but by the rules and procedures of the Senate.  He also emphasized that even if a bill is passed in the Senate, it will take months of back and forth discussion with the House and the President before it will be signed into law.

A physician attending the forum, Dr. Lawrence Monahan, stated the basic principle of insurance “where everyone pays an affordable amount of money to insure the occasional person against an unexpected high cost.”   He chastised the first dollar concept instituted by Blue Cross Blue Shield (no deductible) many years ago.

“Somehow Americans have lost the idea of insurance.  They now expect insurance to pay for everything that anybody wants.  It breaks every principle of insurance and is unaffordable,” Monahan said.

Warner agreed and said the notion that the government can pay for anything, anytime, everywhere from dollar one is unsustainable and that even the printing press in Washington cannot be going that quickly.

Warner has not yet held a public town hall meeting, but hosted a telephone town hall Monday evening in which about 4,000 people across Virginia participated.

By Dot Overstreet
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