Meeting Recap Apr 19
Posted by Steve Lamon
Last meeting...
Keynote speaker Peter Anderson graced us with his presence at the April 19, 2010 meeting. Peter was educated at BYU (B.A.) and Harvard (M.B.A.) and spent 15 years managing the health care systems in North Carolina before joining Sutter Health as a Senior Vice President in 2004. Peter provided an overview of some of the current problems facing his industry, as well as the pros and cons of the recently passed federal health care legislation. In his view, our society tends to "over-medicalize" rather minor health problems, with too few people taking responsibility for their own well-being. He noted that around 70% of current health care problems (and their related costs) are "self-inflicted," stemming from poor dietary choices, lack of sufficient exercise, and excessive smoking and substance abuse. He applauded recent efforts to educate our children on proper diet and exercise regimens, and encouraged all of us to set a better example in that regard. With respect to the recent legislation, he was largely critical of many aspects of the new law. He felt that adding around 32 million to the system might well lead to future cost overruns and possibly a shortage of medical professionals. He lamented the lack of incentives in the law to improve the quality of the current health care system and try to decrease overall costs. He predicted that at some point those tax payers saddled with subsidizing care for the previously uninsured may "revolt" and force further changes in the system. In his view the "jury will be out" on the ramifications of the new laws for several years to come, but unless more changes follow our current system is headed for serious problems in the next 3-4 years. - SL