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Keynote speaker: Evolving US health care system attempts to address shortcomings

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NEW YORK – “The health care system in the U.S. is one of the most interesting stories I have ever seen,” Charles Posternack, MD, FACP, FRCPC, said.

Posternack, chief medical officer, Boca Raton Regional Hospital, gave the keynote lecture here at Vision Expo East.

He discussed the discrepancy between the cost of care and quality of care in the U.S.

In 2012, the U.S. spent $2.8 trillion on health care, he said, which is more than all 11 countries of Western Europe combined. A large portion of these costs is made up of health care administrators, whose numbers have grown 3000% since 1970, based on statistics from the Bureau of Labor.

Despite this large expenditure, the U.S. population is not getting what it is paying for, Posternack said. The U.S. is ranked 37^th in infant mortality, maternal mortality and life expectancy. Of 15 other Westernized nations, including France, Australia, Sweden, Germany and the U.K., the U.S. ranks the worst in preventable deaths, he said.

Posternack believes that 46 million uninsured Americans is a “national disgrace.” The rates of uninsureds has more than doubled since 1976, he said.

“I know wholeheartedly that we will never go back [to the old system of health care],” Posternack said.

He said that health care reform was initiated to address many problems of the uninsured and insured: the high cost, quality and safety of care concerns; access to care; the growing uninsured/underinsured population; decreasing provider availability; and the focus on treating sickness vs. encouraging wellness, to name a few.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has provided a mechanism whereby 40 million previously uninsured Americans can get coverage, Posternack said. Also, the act disregards pre-existing conditions so those who need it most can get treatment and preventive care such as mammograms and colonoscopies at no cost.

Posternack concluded by saying he looks forward to the day when no person will go without health care. – by Abigail Sutton