N.C. Senator Ellie Kinnaird's Newsletter

February 15, 2011 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Ellie Kinnaird

Greetings from the North Carolina Senate,

Last week I attended the Institute for Emerging Issues on health care. This year’s forum was quite a contrast to the forum several years ago when big business, big pharmacy, and big hospitals set the agenda. Before that forum, several of us protested that there was no presentation of a universal, single payer plan as an alternative. The agenda committee relented and staff from the Institute of Medicine gave a good discussion of the advantages to the American public of such a plan.

This time, of course, we are in a new landscape with the Affordable Health Care now passed into law. While it is a long way from universal health care, it is a small, baby step to relieve the most egregious parts of our insurance system: denying ill children lifetime health insurance coverage, imposing a claims cap on those who suffer serious, costly illnesses, and saddling small businesses with ever increasing employee health insurance costs.

In this major recession, many are left without any health insurance, making a solution even more pressing. The Emerging Issues Forum showcased new structuring of health care around care teams and cost control as opposed to individual practitioners charging fees for service that drive up costs. Mission Hospital in Asheville also described the latest in technology and how it relates to safety and efficiency.

But the three that struck me as most pertinent, were Blue Cross Blue Shield (usually not my favorite player) that presented the urgent need for cost control based on the team approach rather than fee for service. The second was the talk by the CEO of Pepsico, whom again, I am not favorably disposed to since soft drinks are one of the leading causes of obesity. When she began by saying she was committed to good health, I thought, “well, she’ll have to shut her company down to accomplish that.” But she described an extensive employee wellness system within her own organization. And most importantly, a commitment to expanding Pepsico’s products to include healthy drinks and to reduce salt and sugar in their snacks. They also are funding exercise facilities and nutrition programs throughout our communities to encourage a complete wellness approach.

The final winner was UNC Health Care Dean William Roper. He began by establishing his credentials. He served with three Republican presidents, Reagan and Bush 41 and Bush 43. Under Reagan, he designed a universal plan requiring mandatory insurance. (We remember Nixon’s plan for universal insurance and health care that ironically was rejected by Ted Kennedy.)

Dean Roper’s message was we need to correct myths about our health care system. The first is that we have the best system in the world. He points out that on average, the outcomes of care in the U.S. are not as good as other industrialized countries, especially because of the ethnic or racial disparities.

Our life expectancy is lower than 36 other countries, ranging from United Arab Emirates to Cuba. Our infant mortality rate is dismal, with 31 countries better than the U.S. from Iceland, again, to Cuba. Why, because access to health care is limited by the capitalist system, rather than providing care for all people.

Myth number 2 is that “everyone eventually gets the care they need. Numeroous studies have shown conclusively that there is a huge cost to American society of ‘uninsurance’ – people seek care later, have worse illnesses and worse outcomes.”

Myth number 3. “Almost always, the quality of care people get is very good.” Research has shown that “far too commonly people don’t get the care they need . . . and [harm occurs] in the process of care because of the lack of attention to patient safety.“

Health care now represents 17% of our economy – far more than any other country, without, however the good outcomes other countries have. Our high expenditure on health care, means that we are not competitive with the rest of the world.

So here we are, about to pass a bill that will take us back, not forward on health care, to prove a political point. Lets use facts instead repeating myths that solve nothing to bring about better health care to all our citizens.

Dean Roper’s final message was that there is a great disparity between the experts who have researched and studied the issue and those in the field who are daily aware of the bad situation and the average citizen. We need to communicate better and work to bring the best health care to all our citizens, like so many other countries in the world.

But what a great day! We all celebrate with Egypt in the first step towards freedom and democracy. People bringing democracy to their own country is the only way it can happen, not by foreigners forcing it at the end of a gun which only results in destruction and massive tragedy.

Paid for by Ellie Kinnaird for Senate • Campaign Address: PO Box 668, Carrboro, NC 27510 • 919-918-3432
Legislative Office Address: Room 628 LOB, 300 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27603 •