Prof. Lyles: There is a Solution for the Gridlock in Health Care - But It Will Take Work to Implement It
May 29, 2018
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Alan Lyles, the Henry A. Rosenberg Professor of Government, Business and Nonprofit Partnerships in the University of Baltimore's College of Public Affairs, writes in the L.A. Times that a viable, long-term solution to the country's many issues in health care is possible. But it will take hard work, compromise, and the federal government working with the states to make it work.
"Health care now appears to be so broken that it can't be fixed. Gridlock feeds cynicism, and cynicism ensures that gridlock continues. Congress can't, or won't, solve this problem," Lyles writes. "But our recently approved Maryland model for hospital payments offers stability and opportunity for the near term. Personal health insurance is, however, more precarious. Many families face absolute financial ruin from ballooning medical costs."
Prof. Lyles recalls the successes and failures of various policies going back decades, and notes that a current bipartisan proposal offered by a group of governors may have potential.
"A group of governors—John Hickenlooper, Tom Wolf, Brian Sandoval, John Kasich and Bill Walker; two Democrats, two Republicans and an independent—recently released a strategy, called A Bipartisan Blueprint to Improve Our Nation's Health Care System. And in Maryland, Gov. Hogan and the state's Democratic legislature worked together to stabilize the health insurance market for individual purchasers. More states, but not all, are taking direct action to address their specific needs. What had become a federal government dispute may find solutions in statehouses. Boundaries are clearer and consumers are willing to show up at a lawmaker's town hall."
Prof. Lyles, a noted expert in pharmaceutical economics and health policy, says that the era of "repeal and replace" the nation's Affordable Care Act may be over. In light of that realization, he says, it's time to rely on bipartisanship to improve the law and strengthen the system for all Americans.
Read the op-ed in the L.A. Times (also appearing in The Baltimore Sun.)
Learn more about Prof. Lyles and the University of Baltimore's College of Public Affairs.