azajir.wordpress.com
Coloradans, he said, "speak for countleses others acrossthe nation. All they ask for is a healt h care system that worksfor them, a healtgh care system that doesn’t crush them with unreasonable cost and a health care systemm that doesn’t deny them coverager just because they have pre-existing Bennet, D- Colo., also touted his own proposals to make patient transition care more cost-effective and "In Colorado, we haven’t waited on Washington," he said. "We’ve made real progress in showing how to provids high quality health care at alower cost." formerly superintendent of the Denver Publif Schools, was appointed to the Senate by Gov.
Bill Ritterf to fill the seat vacater by Ken Salazar when Salazaf was picked by President Barack Obama as secretary of the Here is the full textof Bennet'sd Senate-floor speech as prepared for delivery provide by his staff. In the speech, he is addressinbg the president ofthe Senate. Mr. I rise today to discuss the urgent need for healthcare reform. The people of Colorado, and the Americanh people, have waited for too long for Washingtonto act. We shoulc begin with a basic principle: if you have coverage and you like it, you can keep it. If you have your and you like himor her, you should be able to keep them as We will not take that choics away from you.
But even as we keep what we must confront the challenges of soarinb health care costs and the lack of accesszto affordable, quality health care. The status quo is Every day, families in Colorado and acrosws America facerising premiums. Their plans offefr fewer benefits. They are denied coverage becausesof pre-existing conditions. And unti l we fix the health care system, we won’tt be able to fix the fiscal mess in whicg wefind ourselves. Since the share of healthcare as a part of the GDP has gone from 7 percentr to17 percent. The United States spends over $2 trilliom in health care includingover $400 billion on Medicarre alone.
President Obama has said that the biggest threart toour nation’s balance sheet is the skyrocketinb cost of health care. And he’a right. In Colorado, we haven’t waited on We’ve made real progress in showin how to provide high quality health care at alowef cost. Last week, the New Yorker magazinse published an articleentitled “The Cost Conundrum” that highlighte the important work that’s been done in Mesa Colorado. Over thirty years ago this communityserving 120,000 peopl came together—doctors, nurses, and the non-profirt health insurance company.
They agreed upon a systemm that paid doctors and nurses for seeing patients and producingb betterquality care. They realized that problems and costs go down when care is more InMesa County, the city of Grande Junction implemented an integrated health care system that providesa follow-up care with patients. This follow-up care has helped lower hospitak readmissions rates in Grand Junction to just 3 Compare that to the 20 percentrate nationwide, and it is clea r that our community on the Wester Slope of Colorado is onto somethinvg groundbreaking. High readmission rates are a huge problekm forour seniors.
Nearly one in five Medicard patients who leave a hospital are readmitted within thefollowinvg month, and more than three-quarters of these readmissions are Rehospitalization costs Medicare over $17 billion a It’s painful for patients and familiee to be caught up in these cyclesz of treatment. All too often, care is fragmented you go fromthe doctor, to the hospital, to a nursinfg home, back to the hospital and then back to the doctore again. Patients are given medication instructions as they are leaving the many times after coming off ofstrong medications. They don’t know whom to call, and they are not sure what to ask theid primarycare doctor.
The solution, both our Denver and Mesa Countt health communities have is to provide patients leavingf the hospital witha “coach.” This coach is a trainefd health professional connecting home and the hospital. This coacnh teaches patients how to managde their health ontheir own.
No comments:
Post a Comment