“A system that makes absolutely no sense”
Thursday, July 2 2009
In my my last post, I criticized the National Patient Advocacy Foundation for their reliance on industry sponsorship. That said, I don’t think the people who attended the Patient Congress were necessarily sympathetic to the industry. And as far as I can tell, the highlight was Elizabeth Edwards’s keynote address – which offers a stark contrast to NPAF’s official positions.
You can watch the speech on C-SPAN – it’s 41 minutes long – but here are some key excerpts.
- “We are trying to find a cure for cancer… we need to find a cure, too, for a health insurance system that leaves too many of us shuddering and in fear. We can – I know we can do this….”
- “The problem still exists as long as there is a need for the Patient Advocate Foundation.”
- “We as a society, as a country, need to make sure of something. This is a simple rule, seems to me… that people who are sick get the care they need. It’s just as simple as that.”
- “About $1100 dollars of what you pay to insure your family goes to cover the uninsured.”
- “Shame on us for a system that disincentivizes us – sorry for that word – from getting treatment.”
- “We have created a system that makes absolutely no sense – if the purpose is the delivery of health care.”
- “We need to create legitimate competition for private insurers…” [she then talks at length about the importance of a public plan in health care reform].
- “I have had four delicious [sic], incredible children.”
Granted, her main target was insurers – she didn’t say much about pharmaceutical companies. But still, this is a solid speech – much stronger than NPAF’s advocacy platform. It was well-received by the audience, too – standing ovation and all that. The trick for that audience will be to incorporate Edwards’s vision of reform into NPAF’s platform, to make their advocacy better represent what patients need and want from reform.
