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The Business of Health Care Report
My subject today is health care
at the crossroads. As primaries, caucuses and elections
near, health care -a critical issue of the people - is heating up. Expect tough questions
of both Democrats and Republicans between now and fall. The reason? Health care is at a
crossroads in the United States with rising numbers of uninsured and underinsured, small
businesses unable to obtain or pay for health insurance, and declining reimbursement. While most would say the United States
has the best health care system in the world, parts of the "system" are broken. Prevention
is underfunded, more than 15 percent of the population is uninsured, one in four Texans is
uninsured, and bad debt is crushing hospital finances. Rather than overhauling the system,
we continue to patch it to a point where the seams are very weak. It's time for some serious
discussion about a health policy for America - principles around which citizens and legislators
alike can unite for the long-term strength of America's health care system. There's much that's right about health
care, but since this is an election year, we're going to focus, for the next three months,
on what's wrong with health care. This information will filter your listening of the party
and candidate positions on health care solutions. During the past few months, we have
talked with various groups throughout the Metroplex about their views. Now, I'd like to
hear from you. As we go through the issues, e-mail me your thoughts to Doug Hawthorne at
TexasHealth.org. That's D-O-U-G H-A-W-T-H-O-R-N-E at Texas Health.org. What are your thoughts on caring for
the uninsured? How should the uninsured pay for care? How can we improve access to health
services? What about the cost of services, regulations and paperwork? I want to hear from you. For Texas Health Resources
and its family of hospitals - Harris Methodist Hospitals, Presbyterian
Healthcare System and Arlington Memorial Hospital - I'm CEO
Doug Hawthorne
with "The Business of Health Care Report" on NewsRadio 1080 KRLD.
©
2004 Texas Health Resources |
I'm Doug Hawthorne, President and CEO of Texas Health Resources, with
"The Business of Health Care Report" on 