CHW Healthcare Blog

Lloyd Dean's Statement on Health Reform

Over the Christmas break the Senate passed its health reform legislation, clearing the way for reconciling it with the House version of the bill. Here's a message from our President/CEO, Lloyd H. Dean, on the historic action:

“Throughout the past decade, Catholic Healthcare West has been a forceful advocate for national health care reform and universal health care. Everyone involved – our elected leaders, health care stakeholders and everyday Americans – recognizes that this effort has been a long, tough road. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the women and men of the United States Senate for their courageous and historic vote approving national health care legislation.

“As a hospital system that cares for a population spanning 20 million people, we know firsthand how important it is to reform our nation’s health care system. We continue to recognize that this job is not yet completed and we urge the Congress and President Obama to continue their work until this task is complete.”

It is our hope that the Congress can come together to pass a health reform bill that includes universal access, improved quality, stable financing, and across the board accountability. 

A Charter for Compassion

Last year we told you about the 2008 Ted Award winner, Karen Armstrong. Her wish was to create a Charter for Compassion. That charter is now complete. See more here.

A History of Health Care Reform

We believe that access to quality health care is as essential to social well being as the availability of food and shelter. It has always been our position that meaningful health care reform must include universal access, a viable and stable financing system, increased attention to the quality of care, and across-the-board accountability.

Over the past sixty years, many solutions have been offered to reform the nation's health care system - a system characterized today by rapidly rising costs and a growing inability of people to pay for it. The New York Times takes a long look at the history of health care reform, from Teddy Roosevelt's campaign promise of national health insurance to the current debates.

Time and again, national reform proposals have been introduced and scrutinized primarily for their fiscal impact. Each time, these proposals have failed to achieve the support necessary to be implemented. We believe fiscal analysis alone is insufficient to the task of reform. As an alternative, we believe the central question of the debate should be: When considering how to provide for the health care needs of its members, what should be expected of a compassionate society? We are taking this position to our local, state, and federal leaders every day to develop a solution that provides quality, compassionate care for all in need.

Our mission calls us to expand access to quality health care to all in need. Every day we see the impact of our broken health care system. The status quo is simply not an option.