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Rx for America

ABC News recently sat down with President Obama for their "Prescription for America" forum. You can read the transcript here. It is a wonderfully transparent and thorough conversation on the major issues of health reform today. They address the primary care and nursing shortages, comparative effectiveness, putting an emphasis on prevention/wellness and even discuss nurse practitioners and physician assistants as being part of the solution.

I truly believe we will see steady, incremental progress regarding health reform because all of the stakeholders are/will be part of the process. This has started with a dialogue where respect for each other is paramount. We all know that it is rare for everyone to agree and that's ok. But if we can respect one another's views and roles we are well on our way to addressing this ailing system.

This is a prescription that must be 'dispensed as written.'
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Comments

Barbara Barnes said…
If this is such a great plan, why isn't congress required to use it and why will unions be exempt from taxing their private health benefits?

I didn't see transparency as there was no talk of rationing and this plan will lead to rationing.

As a nurse and FNP student, I see we need a change in health care, I just don't believe unlimited health care is a right and I don't want the government to run it.
June 27, 2009 at 2:46 PM
Stephen Ferrara, DNP, RN, NP said…
I respectfully disagree. First, there is no explicit talk about a single payor system. I'm not sure what you mean my "unlimited health care." What we have today is an inefficient and not very accessible system. I see no talk about going from what we have today to a carte blanche system. Finally, there is already a government run system called Medicare and then there is the VA network - two pretty well run systems by guess who - the government.

No plan will be perfect. However, we are finally having a meaningful discussion about reform and adressing many areas that need it.
June 27, 2009 at 11:18 PM
Anonymous said…
Wow, is this the dude that was quoted in Advance for Nurse Practitioners?

Stephen, good to see you are still hard at work. I am not so sure I am as happy as you are with the Obama plan, but as it is now we are still a distance from anything formal or complete.

I did enjoy hearing "nurse practitioner" during this talk.

I have to admit, I am afraid, very afraid of the direction this seems to be going. We continually give more and more funding to ideas that then become rights.

Medicare is not the best example either, wonder when it will be defunked??? 2015? and do they do prevention???
Tom S Iowa
July 7, 2009 at 5:41 PM
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