I am working hard on the issue of transforming the structure of our healthcare system. This cause is not new, for it has been discussed in the public ear for nearly 100 years. There are many tireless advocates who are working to advance the cause but our message needs a refocused approach. In reading about this issue it is clear that there is a world of data which can be applied to public education. The question of the hour: which pieces are least likely to reek of failed historical attempts?
Even in viewing the debates which took place concerning Medicare the proponents and opposition seemed to use the same emotional bases for their arguments. Fear tends to be the greatest defeater of social change and it was also true of the Medicare legislation that finally passed. Though it was a step in the right direction there were also several large concessions – i.e. directed towards acute hospital care versus addressing issues long term and two separate “parts.”
It is a fervent hope that during the upcoming conference in St. Louis Healthcare Now advocates will be receptive to the communications approach I am framing. The approach is based on the humanitarian principle that the lives of our brethren shouldn’t be grounds for piecemeal ownership and capitalization.
