OPINION
10
To Cure Health Care, See This Doctor
Mayo Clinic boss could be reform's 'Petraeus'
By Matt Cantor
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Posted Aug 20, 09 10:25 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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To fix health care, we need a commander like Gen. David Petraeus: “a professional who can break through the political chaff and describe a strategy for reform that can unite the country,” writes David Ignatius in the Washington Post. He nominates Mayo Clinic CEO Dr. Denis Cortese, who’s already doing what the country needs: “providing high-quality health care at relatively low cost.”
So what does Cortese prescribe? First, he says, the president is too focused on health insurance reform. We need to reform the system itself, not universally impose the current, flawed model. And “stop obsessing” over the public option for now; we already have public options, like Medicare and Medicaid. Let’s fix these systems first, moving from the “fee-for-service” model to one that supports “delivering low-cost, high-quality care.”