U.S. Health System Must Focus On 'Changing Care' To Emphasize Best Practices, Improving Quality Of Care, According To Aide For Presidential Candidate

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 09 Apr 2008 - 7:00 PDT

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Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a senior policy adviser to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), on Monday said that changes to the health care system must shift the focus of medicine to adherence to best practices and improvement in quality of care, CQ HealthBeat reports. At a session hosted by the Tax Policy Center, Holtz-Eakin said, "The focus has to be on changing care," adding, "If we focus exclusively on coverage, we're only looking at who picks up the bill."

McCain has announced a health care proposal that would replace a tax break for employees who receive health insurance through employers with refundable tax credits of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families for the purchase of private coverage. The proposal would not require U.S. residents to obtain health insurance.

In addition, the proposal would revise the Medicare reimbursement system to pay health care providers for diagnosis, prevention and care coordination but not for preventable medical errors or mismanagement, Holtz-Eakin said. He added that the proposal would prompt health care providers to adhere to best practices and lead to improvement in quality of care.

Holtz-Eakin said, "None of this could happen overnight. Health care (overhaul) is fundamentally something that has to be done in an incremental fashion" (Nylen, CQ HealthBeat, 4/7).

Elizabeth Edwards
Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Democratic presidential candidate and former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.), has taken a position as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where she will blog mostly about health policy. In an interview with NPR's "Morning Edition," Elizabeth Edwards said she would like the platform of the Democratic Party to include a "truly universal health care plan." Elizabeth Edwards said that McCain's health care plan is a "collection of platitudes" that lacks substantial policy changes. According to Elizabeth Edwards, neither she nor McCain would be able to obtain private coverage under McCain's plan because they are both cancer survivors. Edwards also discussed whether she or her husband plans to endorse a presidential candidate (Montagne, "Morning Edition," NPR, 4/8).

Audio of the segment is available online.

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