Sunday, November 24
9:15am – Breakfast in the Social Hall
10:00am - Speaker in person & Zoom
We already spend enough—twice as much per person on healthcare as the other rich democracies. Citizens elsewhere are all covered. They get more care. They live longer.
Since the ACA passed in 2010, the number of uninsured Americans has been cut almost in half. But badly designed efforts to save money leave more people under-insured each year. High premiums, rising out-of-pocket costs, medical debt, primary care shortages, hospital closings, narrow doctor networks, shortages of long-term care and mental health care, and complicated paperwork combine to suppress use of health care services. Why do we try to contain costs in these frustrating and ineffective ways? Because we don’t contain costs up front, straightforwardly, or commit to thoroughly protecting all people.
Why not? Through a series of accidents and miscalculations, the U.S. has chosen to allow a rare and destructive blend of failed competition and incompetent government to shape our health care. The result is health care anarchy. Which means no one is clinically or financially or politically or legally accountable for affordably delivering needed health care to all of us.
What can we do about it? When will we act? Today, U.S. health care is financially addicted to bigger doses of money each year, just to pay for business-as-usual. Sometime in the next decade, Congress, state legislators, and employers will freeze their health care payments. Payers, doctors, hospital trustees, and others will quickly recognize that about one-half of health spending is wasted. They’ll find ways to recycle much of that fat as clinical bone and muscle—to deliver affordable, effective, efficient, and equitable health care for all. And we’ll liberate money to address tougher problems like housing, education and job training, re-industrialization, defense, criminal justice, environment, and any other things different people care about.
Alan Sager is a professor of health law, policy, and management at the Boston University School of Public Health, where he has taught finance and planning for 83 semesters. He has designed a "time banking" method of mobilizing voluntary aid for disabled citizens by creating a structured parallel economy of good deeds. His analyses of hospital closings in 52 cities over 85 years found harm to access plus higher cost. His BA in economics is from Brandeis and his PhD in city planning is from MIT.
He is now analyzing how market failure combines with public sector incompetence to impose anarchy on U.S. health care. Anarchy’s effects include weak financial coverage, high prices and costs, mistrust, waste, insecurity, misconfigured caregivers, and uneven quality. He describes feasible interlocking reforms in financial coverage, cost control, primary care, hospital financing, long-term care, and meds. Those reforms might be sparked by financial crises stemming from revenue shortfalls associated with federal deficit reduction or international challenges.
Join us onsite for a FULL BREAKFAST of bagels, smoked salmon, pickled herring, whitefish salad, tabbouleh, desserts and more. On-site attendance for this event is free for Brotherhood members(with Promo code emailed separately to members); $15 for guests. Attendance on Zoom is free to all for this event.
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