Health Care Already a Key Issue in 2008 Race

A recent article in the Washington Post by Christopher Lee titled "Health Care Already a Key Issue in 2008 Race" describes the reality that no White House hopeful can be taken seriously in the rapidly evolving 2008 Presidential race without confronting what many Americans have long said is one of their biggest concerns: the availability and affordability of healthcare.

"Every candidate is going to have to have a health-care plan, because it is the number one domestic policy issue on the minds of voters," said Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans.

Polls by Gallup and other organizations routinely show that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to rate health care as an extremely important issue for Congress and the president. Still, some Republican presidential hopefuls have considerable bona fides on the issue.

Although fixing health care is back in vogue, some analysts worry that the prescriptions of the presidential candidates miss the heart of the problem. All the talk about creating universal coverage has obscured the fact that most voters already have insurance, some analysts say, and what they are most concerned about is curbing costs.

Since 1999, health insurance premiums have risen faster than wages and inflation. U.S. spending on health care, already the highest per person in the world, is expected by 2016 to nearly double, to $4.1 trillion. One in six Americans has no health insurance, and a shrinking share of those who do can get coverage through their jobs, census figures show.

The burden of rising costs on employers has led to calls for major change, even from some business groups that opposed earlier efforts to revamp the system. Pressure is also bubbling up from states, most notably California, Massachusetts and a few others that have begun, or are considering, statewide experiments to make health insurance affordable for everyone, through state subsidies and new fees on businesses if necessary.

"We're at the beginning of the next great debate about health reform," said Drew Altman, president of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan source of health-care information.

There is broad agreement on health-care problems, but a consensus on how to fix them remains elusive.

Popular Health Care Speakers from Leading Authorities

Leading Authorities is proud to represent some of today's most sought-after health care speakers on the circuit today.  Former industry leaders, policy experts, best-selling authors, and some of the most knowledgeable University professors speak on the issues you care about most. 

Some of the best include:    

Leonard D. Schaeffer:

Founding Chairman and former CEO of WellPoint, the nation's largest health benefits company.  Under his leadership, WellPoint was selected by FORTUNE magazine as America's "Most Admired Health Care Company" for an unprecedented six consecutive years, and Schaeffer was selected by BusinessWeek magazine as one of the "Top 25 Managers of the Year" and by Worth magazine as one of the "50 Best CEOs in America."

CEO and President of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Inc., Baker turned the company around financially.  Prior to joining the Harvard Pilgram Health Care company, Baker served in the Massachusetts state government, implementing major public policy changes saving millions of taxpayer dollars.

One of the nation's leading policy experts, Roskey served as the health policy adviser and counsel to the Senate Finance Committee, where his team was responsible for Medicare and Medicaid policy development.   

A prolific scholar who has published nearly 300 peer-reviewed articles in the course of his long and productive career, Brook is both the Vice-President and Director of RAND Health and the Professor of Medicine and Health Services at the Center for Health Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Honored by Washingtonian Magazine as one of the Top Three "Top Guns" of all trade association heads, Ignagni has also authored more than 90 articles on a wide range of health care policy issues.  

A true real world expert in managed care and healthcare management, Enthoven has worked as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, as an economist with the RAND Corporation, and as the President of Litton Medical Products.   

Originally trained as a surgeon and today a renowned professor at Northwestern University, Hughes speaks on his particular interests in the elaboration of national health policy, in the efficient utilization of resources in the delivery of health care, and in the future directions of our health system.   

Designing health care management and delivery systems that focus on cost and quality concerns, Nobel's particular interest is in the development of computer based information technology applications that coordinate critical aspects of healthcare delivery, support optimal practice patterns, and improve patient satisfaction. 

Most recently the President and COO of MedAmerica Insurance Company, Perna has dedicated his career to healthcare. 

The author of books on health care, including Epidemic of Care published in April of 2003, and Strong Medicine.  

An economist primarily interested in federal and state health policy, Altman co-chaired the Governor/Legislative Health Care Task Force for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and was appointed by President Clinton to the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare.  

Reinhard's research has centered mainly on health economics and policy.  He is a frequent commentator in the media as well as an enlightening and informative presenter. 

An internationally known futurist and the author of Health Care in the New Millennium, Morrison is a highly respected consultant and speaker specializing in long-term forecasting and planning with a particular emphasis on health care and societal change. 

An accomplished Senior Fellow at Project HOPE, Wilensky analyzes and develops policies relating to health reform and to ongoing changes in the medical marketplace. 

For more information on these and other great Health Care speakers, visit www.leadingauthorities.com or contact your program consultant today at 1.800.SPEAKER or 202.783.0300.