Health care system broken, experts say

Major changes are needed in the health care system, both regionally and nationally, said participants at a meeting entitled "The Crisis in Health Care: A Conversation with Community Leaders" at U-M-Dearborn May 21.

"The current system is unsustainable, the foundation is crumbling and fundamental change must occur," said Oakwood Healthcare president and CEO Gerald Fitzgerald.

His bleak assessment was reinforced by the other speakers at the session, including leaders from government, the health care system, the labor movement and academia.

The other speakers included Vernice Davis Anthony, president and CEO of the Greater Detroit Health Care Council; Harry Lester, director of District 2 of the United Steelworkers of America; and Janet Olszewski, director of the Michigan Department of Community Health.

Davis Anthony outlined some of the problems in health care in southeastern Michigan, including lack of primary care facilities where they are needed most, rising costs and an aging population. She appealed for greater regional cooperation in seeking remedies. "There are no health care problems in Detroit that don't affect Oakland County," she said.

The session was moderated by Richard Straub, professor of behavioral sciences at U-M-Dearborn and author of a standard text on health psychology.

"Affordable, accessible, quality health care for all citizens is perhaps the single most important issue impacting the future prosperity of our region," said Edward Bagale, vice chancellor for government relations at U-M-Dearborn and a member of the Western-Downriver Advisory Board of the Henry Ford Health System.

"Our region faces a challenge of historic proportions with more than 300,000 uninsured citizens, underfunding of Medicare and Medicaid, and the rapidly increasing legacy costs of health care insurance for working and retired employees," Bagale said. "This conversation was intended to be one step in understanding the scope of the problem and beginning a dialogue about strategies for regional solutions."

The program was sponsored by Henry Ford Health System, OHEP Center for Medical Education and U-M-Dearborn. It was the plenary session for an all-day conference, "Frontiers in Research: Spanning the Research Divide for Healthcare Professionals," held at U-M-Dearborn the same day.

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