Obama listening???
Never spend more than you make

The present Healthcare program in America is plagued with serious shortcomings. If 47 million Americans are not insured and many more thinly insured, despite the fact that 16% of the GDP is spent on healthcare, there has to be some very significant and notably visible areas that can be addressed to and corrected.

A very simple explanation for the astronomically expensive American healthcare is that a lot is paid for each unit of care. The objective is to provide effective healthcare both in cost and quality to all. The objective is far from met. US is marred by health issues ranging from infant mortality to cancer to obesity and many more. The best of technologies does not seem to help. Bottomline is, spending a lot is not the solution; spend moderately but effectively.

Public or Private:

Government should have a mechanism to track the uninsured and find a suitable coverage for them. Expand Medicare, Medicaid to cover a wider audience. Educate people the pros and cons of Public and Private health insurance and come up with a transparent method to allow common man to chose his/her coverage. Provide Tax benefits for employer sponsored insurance. Mandating insurance for all will enable the uninsured to get treatment in time which otherwise would delay and make matters worse.

Consumers get wise:

In my opinion, the most significant reason for America's healthcare fiasco is the attitude of the American Consumer. A lot of money is spent on the far too much unnecessary care the American consumer seeks. A whopping amount is spent on the many tests, treatments and hospitalizations that barely does anything to improve the health condition of the patient. Consumers insists on getting more intensive diagnostic testing done and doctors in fear of lawsuit order the same.The increased consumer demand leads to increased utilization and is one of the biggest drivers of rising health care costs.Consumers must be wise enough to understand what difference a test or procedure makes.Awareness programs must be conducted to educate people on the risks and benefits of conducting unnecessary tests. The right physician, right tests and right decisions can save the country billions of dollars.

Adopt an alternate healthcare option. Shift to natural heath care is both cheaper and beneficial. In India, Ayurveda, naturopathy and homeopathy has helped cure many serious ailments.

Americans go binge on eating ,drinking and smoking. Obesity due to insufficient exercise, unhealthy food, alcohol and drugs can cause myriad diseases that requires hospitalization and treatment.The only cure is self-awareness. No health reform can educate an individual to eat healthy and stay fit.


Reform Immature and Expensive Healthcare Supply Chain:

The American health care supply chain is an immature and expensive system. Specifically, stakeholders - manufacturers, distributors, group purchasing organizations and providers such as hospitals, surgical centers and long-term care facilities - lack good and accurate information because they have not implemented universal standards for data. The health care supply chain is starved for accurate and accessible data, which are the primary barriers to efficiency, collaboration and standardization.

Perhaps needless to say, this is an extremely expensive problem. The health care logistics is an area in which costs can be significantly reduced and efficiencies gained to provide better and safer health care delivery at a reasonable cost. Fix the unstructured and loosely defined supply-chain management practices.Lack of data standardization is the main obstacle to a mature or extended supply chain. Data standards increase compatibility, reduce redundancy and improve exchange and efficiency.Lack of data standards is a barrier for organizations to reach an acceptable level of collaboration among health care supply-chain organizations.

Go IT:

The need to create a nationwide network of electronic health records is imperative. Another high spending area, the administration as a lot of paperwork is done by insurance companies. The advancements of Information technology can be tapped to eliminate all the paperwork thereby reducing administrative costs.Use of Electronic billing will reduce manual resubmission of claims and help insurance executives obtain information on claims easily.Access to millions and millions of patient records online will be the biggest step for health-care information technology. ERP tools can be incorporated to streamline the order, shipping, billing and procurement.


Government Listen Up!!

Just as all vehicle owners require auto insurance, a system that mandates health insurance should be created. Affordability must be taken into account and premiums should be adjusted accordingly. Penalize health offenders and provide tax incentives to individuals who are willing to give up on bad habits. Reward doctors and hospitals that provide low-cost high-quality healthcare. Push for the need of a common computerized medical record system.