Governors consider business's No. 1 problem: health-care costs

By Kyung M. Song
Seattle Times staff reporter

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Jeffrey Smith of Memphis, Tenn., was among demonstrators outside the governors meeting yesterday. Smith holds a photo of Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, part of a declaration of the "10 worst states" for services for the disabled.

E-mail this article Print this article Search archive Most read articles Most e-mailed articles

Related stories Advocates for disabled find ally in governor

So it's no wonder that American chief executives call health-care costs their No. 1 problem.

As for the solutions, they were the topic of the closing session of the National Governors Association's annual meeting yesterday at Seattle's Westin Hotel. Unfortunately, consensus ran deeper on what is wrong with the U.S. health-care system than on how to fix it.

Newt Gingrich, the Republican former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, endorsed a free-market system built on consumer knowledge and responsibility, and information technology. Gingrich favors, for example, offering all state employees Health Savings Accounts to manage their medical spending, requiring that all prescriptions be written electronically to reduce errors, and publicizing hospital performance data and prices of services.

Leon Panetta, former White House chief of staff under President Clinton, supported a comprehensive approach to tackle issues ranging from the 44 million Americans without health insurance to the health needs of patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Panetta urged the Bush administration to exercise "greater fiscal discipline" to curb deficit spending and free up money for social services.

	STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, left, greets former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich before the start of a governors-conference meeting on health care.

Orin Smith, Starbucks' president and chief executive, said double-digit increases in health-insurance premiums could jeopardize one of the Seattle company's best tools for recruiting and retention. Starbucks employees who work at least half time qualify for full medical benefits.

Smith said he believes that every American is entitled to a basic level of health care. He also thinks employers should educate their workers about health costs to encourage them both to get healthier and to become more discriminating consumers.

All the speakers agreed that the United States gets a lousy bargain for its health-care dollars, which averaged about $5,440 for every American in 2002. The U.S. spends more of its gross domestic product on health services than any other Western nation. Yet Americans are sicker and die earlier than people in countries that spend far less.

Ford Vice Chairman Allan Gilmour urged the governors to search for systemic solutions that mimic any well-run corporation: high-quality, effective and consistent care that produces measurable gains.

Gilmour criticized the current system as "disjointed and inefficient." He called on consumers, employers, governments and health-care providers to jointly tackle rising costs and to reduce unnecessary treatments.

"Everyone should take personal responsibility for his or her health," Gilmour said. "Significant reform is necessary, and we won't get there unless we work together to figure out what to do and then do it."

Related developments

Homeland security: The governors also had a closed luncheon session with Tom Ridge, head of the Department of Homeland Security, at which they discussed what governors can do to prepare for a bio-terror attack and what they should do if there's an attack in another state. Responding to a question about a series of articles in The Seattle Times that found flaws in the airport-security system, Ridge acknowledged that some airports don't have enough security screeners and said the department was working on the problem.

Staff reporter Patrick J. Coolican contributed to this story.

Kyung Song: 206-464-2423 or ksong@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

E-mail this article

Print this article

Search archive

More local news headlines...