New York Times Editorial Highlights U.S. Health Care System Challenges, Solutions

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 27 Nov 2007 - 12:00 PDT

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The "relentless, decades-long rise in the cost of health care has left many Americans struggling to pay their medical bills," a New York Times editorial states, adding that the issue of rising health costs presents the "worst long-term fiscal crisis facing the nation, and it demands a solution, but finding one will not be easy or palatable." The editorial continues, "Contrary to popular beliefs, this is not a problem driven mainly by the aging of the baby boom generation, or the high cost of prescription drugs or medical malpractice litigation that spawns defensive medicine." Rather, the "major causes are much more deep-seated and far harder to root out," the Times says. If "health care spending continues on its same trajectory, the United States will reach the point -- probably several decades from now -- where every penny of the annual increase in gross domestic product would have to go for health care," according to the editorial.

The Times continues, "The question is: What can be done to lower both the high level of health care spending and its high rate of increase from year to year?" According to the editorial, possible solutions include bringing health care costs "down to match the lower-spending regions" of the U.S.; pursuing evidence-based medicine to improve quality and cost efficiency; adopting managed care techniques; implementing health care information technology; pursuing preventive medicine and disease management; and taking steps to reduce prescription drug prices.

The Times also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of paying health care providers less; emphasizing primary care; focusing on consumer-directed health care; and adopting a single-payer system. The Times says there is "no silver bullet to restrain soaring health care costs," adding that a "wide range of contributing factors needs to be tackled simultaneously, with no guarantee they will have a substantial impact any time soon."

The editorial concludes, "The cascade of knowledge flowing from the human genome project, new nanotechnologies and the advent of treatments tailor-made for individual patients may well accelerate, not mitigate, the rise in medical spending. If we want the benefits, we will need to make them affordable" (New York Times, 11/25).

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