Independent Thinking » health reform

Second Look: Ford Gets Its Mojo Back, Rethinking Health Care, Pioneering Entrepreneurs

Daria Steigman — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:16:46 +0000

Each week I’m highlighting 3 or 4 posts, surveys, and other news that I have read and/or tweeted about that you may not have seen. As the name implies, I think they deserve a second look.

How Ford Got Its Mojo Back: A must-read post about smart business strategy reveals how Ford CEO Alan Mulally valued employees and used a combination of transparency, energy, and long-term thinking to bring the automaker back from the brink.
Driving Value in Health Care: “Today’s health delivery system and payment framework does not reward innovation around health management, prevention, and real-time consumer engagement… To truly shift the business of health, we need to drive the right combination of structural change, innovation and use of technology to create a better system–essentially, drive real value for every dollar spent.” Smart thinking around shifting the model.
China’s First Entrepreneur: The BBC looks at the courage, smarts, and serendipity it took to become China’s first licensed entrepreneur.

Photo by omniNate (Flickr).

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What Happens the Day After Health Reform?

Daria Steigman — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:52:19 +0000

Enacting health reform is the easy part. What happens the day after?

The University of Chicago held a terrific forum on health care on Sept. 10 in Washington. It was headlined by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who said that “what we’re really talking about is transforming a system of care in America.”

So what comes next? A panel withÂ some very smart people, including Kavita Patel from the White House Office of Public Engagement, offered their insights and a sense of how much hard work lies ahead. Some key takeaways:

Do we really want to reform health care, or do we want to reform the health of Americans? The latter means also tackling related issues, such as food deserts and the lack of sidewalks and open space.
Patients and providers need real-time data, which means we need to create information exchanges for outcomes-driven care based on objective, transparent information.
We need to reform the payment and incentive systems to get to better care rather than more care.
There is a moral imperative for health reform: the health of our community affects us. (Think SARS or H1N1.)
How are we going to handle the 46 million uninsured who will suddenly enter the health care pipeline?
When did it become socially acceptable for physicians not to take patients because they have no money?

My head’s still spinning. Your thoughts?

Photo by seiuhealthcare775nw (Flickr).

6 Reasons to Pay Attention to HealthReform.gov

Daria Steigman — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:32:19 +0000

I got a great news release this morning from the Department of Health and Human Services. The headline: Secretary Sebelius Releases Inaugural Health Care “Success Story” Report.

Here are 6 reasons this resonated with me and should matter to you too:

1. The administration has a HealthReform.gov Web site. From a transparency perspective alone, this is really important.

2. The last time someone tried to do comprehensive reform, it was drafted in secret meetings and without participation from most stakeholders. This time, the adminstration is asking citizens to share our thoughts.

3. HHS just posted a “Success Story.” When was the last time you heard the federal government provide concrete, data-driven examples in simple English?

4. While the government supports a huge amount of great research in the health care sector, agencies have been notoriously bad at disseminating results outside of a narrow band of researchers. This time, they’re talking about “improving quality of care” and “a success story for patient safety.” Who doesn’t understand that?

5. The project, a Michigan initiative to reduce hospital infections, is pretty compelling. And HHS does a great job of explaining why this matters to us:

The Keystone Project is more than the story of a simple tool like the checklist making a dramatic impact. It is the story of complex organizational change across an entire state changing the attitudes and practices of doctors and nurses, creating incentives for cooperation, partnering with the state hospital association, and creating a social network amongst participating hospitals in Michigan to share best practices.

When I first heard about the project last fall, I vowed that I’d never walk into a hospital room again without a big bottle of Purell and an even-bigger box of disinfecting wipes.

6. I want to know more, and I’m waiting for the next success stories to be posted. And hoping this becomes a new trend in how federal agencies communicate what they do and why we should pay attention and care.

What’s Wrong with a Public Health Care Plan?

Daria Steigman — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:24:56 +0000

Am I missing something? I really don’t get all the handwringing among insurers and the pharmaceutical industry about a public health plan component to reform.Â One of the latest naysayers is Eli Lilly‘s CEO, John Lechleiter, who said that a public plan is “a slippery slope towards the days when all Americans would get their health insurance through a government-run plan.”

As a business owner, I face competition every day. And almost all of it is from companies that are far bigger players in the marketing communications field. Heck, unless you’re also a solopreneur, everyone is bigger than I am.

I realize that insurers fear that Americans will drop their private insurance and flock to a government plan. That’s likely true. But companies typically lose their customers because they aren’t valuing them or providing value to them. This happens every day. And yet, while cost alone may determine some purchasing decisions, examples abound where we will pay a premium to support a brand we love. Nike makes money selling high-end running shoes; Apple‘s enthusiasts pay top dollars for a mobile phone. In the insurance arena, I’ve accepted higher auto premiums in exchange for terrific service.

My advice to the insurance industry: Stop worrying about possible competition and look at what you can do to deliver what your customers want.