HCCD Report Washington 98103

Summary of Key Points Discussed

1. It’s difficult to rationally find a primary care doctor. We must rely on recommendations of friends or go to a doctor within the system that our insurance includes. We have no way to know whether a doctor is good or bad. Need better information about doctors and their practices.
2. The lack of family practitioners is a real problem. To remedy the issue, the system must recognize their worth and pay accordingly – i.e. pay as much as specialists get. Their training could also be subsidized so that would-be doctors don’t avoid family practice because they know that their incomes will not be enough to repay the medical school loans.
3. We value the option to choose a doctor.
4. We want a single payer system! The Obama insurance proposal is only nibbling around the edges of reform. We believe that there is a huge amount of waste in the current insurance/billing system. A single payer system should focus on keeping people well rather than on being compensated for treating sick people, as is currently the case.
5. If we continue with a multiple insurance company system, we need a way to know what our share of the medical costs will be. Not even the doctors know the cost of their procedures. How can we budget and/or decide on medical care without the crucial cost information?
6. Unlink health care insurance from employers. We shouldn’t have to change our insurance and our doctors when we change jobs. See #4. But employers could be a source of funding for a single payer system.
7. Everyone should have a co-pay – though the amount of the co-pay should be based on their ability to pay (i.e. income).
8. Prevention should include life-style such as nutrition and exercise. Need more education and programs to encourage a healthy life-style. School lunch programs should be nutritious and healthy. No junk food should be allowed in schools.
9. To reduce cost of medical education, integrate undergraduate and medical school to 6 years instead of 8. This should help reduce cost of delivering medical services. This is common in other parts of the world.
10. Government must be able to negotiate drug prices for Medicare – and the single payer system.