08/06/2009
Letter from Jonathan Hensley
I have been meeting with a number of business partners in the community, and the topic of health care reform is at the forefront of many discussions. I recently attended a Health Care Reform panel that Senator Maria Cantwell organized at Spokane's City Hall Council Chambers. At that panel we discussed health care reform and focused on what Congress is doing to reform America's health care system. The information shared during this session helped all of us understand the complexity of the issues at hand.
Health care reform is at the center of debate in Washington, D.C. In light of the fact that no clear answers yet exist as to how to achieve a working system or rein in runaway health care costs, we recognize the need to take action and support ongoing commitments to educate consumers about the real costs of health care and about how the choices they make each day impact those costs.
But too often, people forego health insurance because it costs too much. Coverage costs are directly related to health care costs, since more than 87 cents of every premium dollar is used to pay claims. Insurance costs are high because health care itself costs too much. Each of us has a stake in understanding and doing something about the underlying costs of health care in America because if all we do is expand health care coverage (the cornerstone of most health reform proposals), health care costs will continue to balloon until our health care system explodes.
According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 46 million Americans lack health insurance. That figure is often cited as evidence that health care is inaccessible to a large number of people in the United States. Asuris understands that national health reform is a complex and multi-faceted issue. As such, The Regence Foundation-which is a 501(c)3 grant-making organization affiliated with Asuris Northwest Health-recently revealed a $50,000 grant to Community-Minded Enterprises in Spokane to help connect uninsured eastern Washingtonians to health insurance programs. This program, called "Health For All", focuses on reaching uninsured individuals before they or their family faces a health care crisis without insurance. Our mission is to continually strive to educate and engage consumers in becoming more active participants in the health care system.
Expanding coverage that doesn't address health care costs simply perpetuates a system that is wasteful, inefficient and unaffordable, regardless of whether government, employers or individuals pay for it. For reform to be meaningful and long-lasting, it must address the root causes of inefficiency in our system-a system characterized by complexity, waste, duplication, misperceptions and a whole lot of finger pointing.
Asuris' ongoing commitment is to educate consumers about the real costs of health care and about how the choices they make each day impact those costs. I ask that you make your voice heard in the health care debate by letting us know your thoughts on national health care reform. Please email your opinion to us. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Hensley
President
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