At the end of Episode 12, Fixing Healthcare co-hosts Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr turned to listeners for ideas and suggestions.
This regular feature of season two comes by way of the Fixing Healthcare Survey. Next month, Robert and Jeremy will share the final results of the survey and kick off new listener poll for upcoming season.
This month, Fixing Healthcare listeners focused on reforming health insurance coverage.
Transcript from Fixing Healthcare (Episode 12)
Jeremy Corr: Now let’s turn to some listener feedback. We asked for your ideas on how to fix American healthcare and we’ve received hundreds of responses on www.robertpearlmd.com. Today we’ll hear from listeners who focused on health insurance coverage and how changes could improve healthcare in this nation.
Melissa urged that we provide “Universal Healthcare paid for by way of “sin tax” on cigarettes, soda and fast food.” Debbie recommended that we get rid of fee for service reimbursements, pay for better food and housing, and put doctors in charge of promoting health, access and lowering cost. Carol suggested “Universal coverage and government negotiated prices. She also believes Americans ought to learn from the French, German, and Swiss healthcare systems, which each have a greater focus on preventive care.” And Preston said, “The two largest missteps in American Healthcare are treating disease rather than preventing it and the lack of access. Fix these two with universal access to both health and sick care and focus on prevention.”
Robbie, what do you think about our listener’s feedback?
Robert Pearl: We are fortunate to have so many knowledgeable listeners. As you know, in the hundreds of ideas submitted, there was broad agreement most of these ideas.
Like Melissa and Carol, I believe that we need to ensure that everyone has access to healthcare. Taxing products like sugared sodas and cigarettes has been proven to reduce consumption and improve health. And we can learn much from other countries on the best ways not only to provide coverage but also deliver superior quality outcomes. To that end, I concur with Debbie and Preston that we need to promote health, focus on the social determinants of disease, and emphasize prevention. And like Debbie and dozens of listeners recommended a crucial first step to all of these goals is eliminating the fee-for-service system and replacing it with one that rewards superior clinical outcomes, not simply doing more.
Jeremy: Thanks to Melissa, Carol, Debbie and Preston and everyone who has participated in the Survey to Fix American Healthcare. You can find all the featured comments on our Fixing Healthcare website. We also invite you to leave your own thoughts and recommendations at RobertPearlMD.com. We’ll continue to share ideas from our listeners in the future.
READ: Full transcript of our discussion with Kevin Pho
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Fixing Healthcare is a co-production of Dr. Robert Pearl and Jeremy Corr. Subscribe to the show via Apple Podcasts or wherever you find podcasts. Join the conversation or suggest a guest by following the show on Twitter and LinkedIn.