Blum Testifies to Democratic Party National Platform Committee

Sometimes debate over health care reform concentrates exclusively on expanding insurance coverage to the uninsured. Important as that issue is, a sole focus on coverage expansion nearly always ends up in a deadlock over who will pay for it — especially with premiums rising five times faster than workers wages.

Testifying before the Democratic Party National Platform Committee meeting in Cleveland, Ohio on August 1, Americas Agenda Executive Director Mark Blum encouraged the committee members to focus the Party platform on the question of affordability of quality care, as well. Speaking on behalf of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, of which America's Agenda is a founding partner, Blum said, "Health care reform that doesn't address and reduce the growth in health costs will not be sustainable."

In his testimony, Blum emphasized that real health care reform must reorient Americas health care delivery system toward maintenance of good health. He cited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 80% of heart attacks and strokes, 40% of cancers, and 80% of type II diabetes are, in fact, avoidable. Yet only 56% of Americans actually get the chronic disease care they should have.

"Senator Obama has said Americas health care crisis is a crisis of cost, and he is absolutely right," said Blum. "If we fail to address the fact that costly treatment for largely preventable chronic diseases accounts for 75% of total US health care spending, we will not succeed in guaranteeing affordable, quality care to every American."

The growing prevalence and cost of chronic disease is the #1 driver of American health care costs, accounting for nearly two-thirds of annual growth in spending, Escalating chronic disease costs contribute significantly to inflation in private insurance premiums. Chronic disease costs currently amount to 83 cents of every dollar spent on Medicaid and 96 cents out of every dollar spent on Medicare.

America’s Agenda Executive Dir. Mark Blum (l) talks with members of the National Democratic Platform Committee.