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Concerns about direction
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Published: June 3, 2009
Updated: 06/02/2009 08:50 pm
There's been talk recently that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is trying to stop health-care reform. The talk started when some draft video concepts were taken without authorization and made their way to The Washington Post. The fact is, those draft video concepts weren't about opposition to health-care reform; they were about our concerns related to government-run health insurance. We make no excuses about our concerns.
Let's be clear: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina supports health-care reform and covering everyone. We are, in fact, a strong proponent of change. We are convinced that a continuation of current trends would be very bad for our nation, our customers, and yes, our business. Rising health-care costs already threaten our customers' ability to purchase health insurance.
We see three main strategies for effective health-care reform: improving the quality and effectiveness of care; promoting better health through preventive care and lifestyle changes; and updating the reimbursement system to reward better care, not just more care.
We do not believe that government-run health insurance is necessary to achieve these goals. We believe that combining the strengths of our current system with insurance reform and new focus on quality and cost ultimately can result in achieving President Obama's goals for health-care reform.
We are concerned that a government plan would attack costs largely by paying doctors and hospitals low fees that shift costs to private payers, as is already the case with Medicare and Medicaid. In fact, a large North Carolina hospital system reports $227 million in uncompensated care based largely on low payment by Medicare and Medicaid. This shift would undermine the private system without addressing cost pressures and quality issues.
We believe that the government needs to play an important role -- to assist Americans who today cannot afford health insurance on the private market. We also believe the government should support and encourage the kind of private-sector innovations for which Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is already recognized as a national leader: health-information technology such as electronic prescribing to highlight affordable drug options and reduce medical errors; and our first-of-its-kind program to cover obesity as a primary illness and support members willing to make lifestyle changes. Other innovations include payment for visits to nutritionists and free generic drugs to improve control of chronic diseases. We already see the positive results.
We are at the beginning of a serious discussion about health care in this country. The results of that discussion will determine how Americans receive care. Our company has worked for more than 75 years to address the health needs of North Carolinians and has engaged at a national level on the importance of health-care choices. We have an obligation to be part of that discussion. We all have a lot of work to do, and the stakes are high. Working together, we can achieve President Obama's goals for health-care reform.
■ Bob Greczyn is the president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. He lives in Durham.
The Journal welcomes original submissions for North Carolina Voices on local, regional and statewide topics. Essay length should not exceed 750 words. The writer should have some authority for writing about his or her subject. Our e-mail address is: Letters@wsjournal.com. You may also mail a typed essay to: Letters to the Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. Please include your name and address and a daytime telephone number.
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