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U.S.
Senator Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees |
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For Immediate
Release Wednesday, June 4, 2008 |
CONTACT:Stephanie Valencia – 202-494-8790 |
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| Sen. Salazar Seeks Answers to High Cost, Low Quality
Health Care Conundrum
WASHINGTON, DC – This week, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing to examine a troubling inconsistency in America’s health care system: higher costs are not translating into higher-quality care. During the hearing, entitled “Rising Costs, Low Quality in Health Care,” members of the Committee heard testimony from a number of health care experts, each of whom outlined steps the federal government can take to ensure Americans are getting more “bang for their buck” from our nation’s health care system. As a member of the Committee, United States Senator Ken Salazar focused on the troubling fact that although the U.S. spends 50 percent more per person on health care than other industrialized countries in the world, it still lags considerably on indicators of health care quality. To help remedy this disturbing discrepancy, Senator Salazar pointed to the importance of reintroducing the concept of “value” into the national health care market as a means to effective reform of America’s broken health care system. The full text of Senator Salazar’s committee statement, as prepared for delivery, is included below: “Thank you Chairman Baucus and Ranking Member Grassley for convening today’s hearing to continue the Committee’s health care reform discussion. I appreciate your leadership in developing a detailed dialogue on one of the most challenging, and potentially promising, issues facing our nation today. “As I mentioned at our last hearing, there is little doubt in my mind that America’s health care system is broken. We are headed towards a crisis, and Americans are finding it more and more difficult to obtain affordable, high-quality care as each day passes. This path is unacceptable, and I share a strong commitment with my colleagues on the Finance Committee to take the steps necessary to point us in a new direction. “Recently, I was reminded of a comment that sums up my viewpoint on the challenge ahead quite nicely- ‘We should now resolve that the health of this Nation is a national concern, that financial barriers in the way of attaining health shall be removed; that the health of all its citizens deserves the help of all the Nation.’ Interestingly enough, this statement was offered by President Truman in 1945, when America embarked on the first of many efforts to improve our health care system. While those efforts have resulted in positive changes, it is clear that this is an issue that has building over time and has, in my opinion, reached its breaking point. We must act swiftly to re-chart our course. “Today’s hearing focuses on two elements that are fundamental to our discussion of health system reform- how much we are spending and the quality of care we are receiving for those dollars. As we will hear from the hearing witnesses, America’s high-cost care is simply not producing high-quality services and outcomes. We can do better for our people, and it is important that we reintroduce the concept of ‘value’ into our health care market as an essential component to reform. “There is no question that our country is willing to invest in health care- with an annual expenditure of over $2 trillion, we are spending more per capita than our counterparts through the world. In fact, the U.S. currently spends 50 percent more per capita on health care than other industrialized countries, a figure that is on the rise. But what results are we reaping as a result of this investment? Based upon the statistics with which we have become all too familiar, these dollars are not translating into readily-accessible, high-quality care. “America’s high spending level might not be such a cause for concern if we knew that our citizens had unfettered access to care that produced outstanding clinical outcomes, but that simply is not the case. Rather, I hear from people in my home state of Colorado everyday who cannot afford to seek treatment for their basic health care needs. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, nearly 40 million people (19 percent of the U.S. population) did not receive “needed services” in 2005 because they could not pay for them. Clearly, our spending levels are attributable to higher costs of service rather than just higher utilization of services. “Additionally, many researchers- including some testifying here today- tell us that our health care system falls behind in quality when compared to our peers. Study after study demonstrates that the clinical outcomes seen in the U.S. are not as successful as those seen in other countries, despite the fact that we spend more on care and use advanced technology more frequently. “For instance, a recent study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund comparing the U.S. to its international counterparts on a number of health care outcomes found that the U.S. experienced significantly poorer outcomes and higher mortality rates than most of its peers. In fact, the U.S. ranked 15th out of the 19 countries examined. Considering that America spends over $2 trillion on health care each year- nearly 16 percent of our GDP- compared to 10 percent GDP spending in many other developed countries, it is clear that the current system is not producing the results our citizens deserve. “So where is our money going, and why aren’t we seeing more ‘bang for our buck?’ That is the question I hope we can answer, in part, today so that we can move forward on a course to improve the ‘value’ consumers experience in our health care system. Thank you to all of the witnesses for joining us today. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this very important issue. “ ###
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