Healthcare reform--the time is now.(Editorial)

As Americans usher in an era of political "change," healthcare reform remains a top priority. Key Congressional and Executive Branch leaders and diverse consumer groups across the spectrum of the American electorate have identified accessible, affordable healthcare as a critical element of our lives. The inclusive agenda of President Obama provides us with a unique opportunity to rethink and rebuild a healthcare delivery system that focuses on quality, efficiency, and behaviors that promote excellence.

Only 7% of Americans are confident that they will be able to continue to afford adequate healthcare. Today, more than 45 million individuals, including nearly 9 million children, have no health insurance. Economic estimates demonstrate that, with every percentage point increase in unemployment, another 2.5 million people lose their job-related health insurance and must purchase more expensive coverage through COBRA or remain uninsured.

However, in a frightening economic climate, how might healthcare reform fare? How and who will fund reform? Will the United States move toward a "socialized" healthcare delivery system? First, our economy and our healthcare system are inextricably linked. A strong economy supports a job-based healthcare system, but that system must be efficient and affordable and include enough competition to make it possible for both large and small businesses to buy insurance for their employees and their dependents. A strong economy may provide businesses with the monetary strength needed to insure full- and part-time workers. A strong economy also provides the funding needed by the Federal and individual state governments to support Medicare, Medicaid, and other healthcare-related programs and research.

Next, we will need to shift our social perspective or view of healthcare. Healthcare is not a privilege, available to some but not others, or a simple commodity; it is an essential human right. Healthcare is one of many social responsibilities, not simply a personal one. Healthcare is a form of public good that, like police and fire protection and education, benefits all of us. Healthcare reform should help us redirect our resources to create a system that incites everyone--individuals, insurers, businesses, and government agencies--to focus on disease prevention and wellness promotion. Today, even Americans with insurance receive too little appropriate preventive care and a substantial quantity of expensive, unnecessary care.

Americans may also need to rethink our quest for ongoing, seemingly endless technological, pharmacological, and medical progress and innovation. There are few values as deeply embedded in our cultural psyche as the desire to conquer the long and ever-growing list of diseases that cause human suffering and death. However, ...