SHAHEEN OUTLINES HOW THE SENATE REFORM BILL WILL IMPROVE THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

Mr. President, I rise today to support the health care reform legislation that is before us. I want to talk a little bit, specifically, about what the bill does to reform our health care delivery system. That is really health care jargon for the way we provide health care to people who need it.

I heard a lot of debate earlier this afternoon about the fact that the health care bill doesn't do anything to address costs. I think that is just wrong. The fact is, this health care bill does begin to address costs in our system. That is one of the reasons we have to pass it. In fact, we know that over the next 10 years it is going to reduce our deficit by $130 billion.

But more important than that are the changes that I believe this is going to begin to make in how we provide health care for the people of this country. The fact is--we all know it, even our colleagues on the other side of the aisle--our current health care system is not working; it costs too much; and for too many families quality health care is simply out of reach. One of the problems is that 30 percent of the $2.5 trillion we spend right now each year on health care goes to unnecessary, inappropriate care and administrative functions that do little to improve our health.

Our health care system didn't get this way overnight. Years of perverse incentives have encouraged health care professionals to practice more medicine rather than better medicine. They struggle to see more patients and do more procedures to keep up. Hospitals race to build new wings and state-of-the-art units. As patients, we too often live unhealthy lifestyles, and we expect the newest high-tech services to fix it. In the meantime, we have undervalued things such as primary care, preventive care, and mental health services. Despite all of our spending, we are not any healthier.

Over the past few months, I have joined, as the Presiding Officer has, with all of our freshman colleagues on the floor to discuss why we can't continue this current system. It is too costly and too inefficient.

Last week, the freshman Senators introduced a package of amendments that emphas cost containment. The provisions contained in our package may not be those that are currently grabbing headlines, but I believe they really go to the crux of our reform efforts. They are the delivery system reforms that will improve quality and control costs over the long run. How are these going to work? Well, our delivery system reforms build upon the

current underlying bill. They reward improvement in providing care for a better health outcome.

One way we can be more efficient in delivering care is through what are called accountable care organizations or ACOs. These ACOs allow medical providers to work in teams, to take responsibility for decisionmaking, and they offer financial rewards for better health outcomes. Our amendments allow medical providers to align Medicare, Medicaid, and private sector strategies for improving care. Doing this will help ensure all Americans receive high-quality care no matter how they are insured. ACOs provide the right kind of incentives and promote value over volume.

For years, the Dartmouth Institute of Health Policy and Clinical Practice has shown us that there are regional differences in the way care is delivered and how health care dollars are spent. Over the summer, Dr. Atul Gawande eloquently highlighted Dartmouth's findings in an article he wrote for New Yorker Magazine. He clearly made the case that higher quantity do not necessarily translate into higher quality, so that more procedures do not necessarily mean better care. Dr. Gawande's article has had a tremendous influence on the health care debate. It has been quoted frequently by President Obama and referenced right here on the floor of the Senate.

In his latest article, which just came out recently, Dr. Gawande has once again made an important contribution to the health care reform dialog. In this article, he emphas the importance of delivery system reforms and fixing our health care system. He points out that there is not one single answer, there is no silver bullet to what we need to do to change our health care system.

While we can all agree that something must be done, what we can't agree on is what specific model or provision will be the best and have the most desirable outcomes.

Dr. Gawande pointed out that our country faced a similar challenge before. In the article, Dr. Gawande draws a parallel between our current health care system--one that is very costly, a money drain, one that is fragmented, disorganized, and inconsistent. He compares our current health care system to the agricultural system at the start of the 20th century. At that time, more than 40 percent of a family's income went to paying for food. The inefficiency of farms meant lower crop yields, higher prices, limited choice, and uneven quality. Agriculture was on an unsustainable path. Dr. Gawande points out that the Federal Government did not, however, offer a grand solution; rather, it provided incentives to change the way farmers produced crops. Through innovation, the promotion of best practices, and smart dissemination, today food only accounts for about 8 percent of a family's income compared to that 40 percent at the start of the last century.

As you know, as we have heard discussed on the floor, we have examples of great innovation and excellence in health care, such as Dartmouth in my State; the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, which Senator Klobuchar can speak to; Intermountain in Utah, and numerous other places of excellence around the country. These institutions have developed integrated health care systems that are patient focused. Their practices have promoted high value and excellent outcomes, best practices, which should be shared throughout the country.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Choices Act identifies some of these best practices and provides the types of incentives for doctors, nurses, and patients to change the status quo and to experiment with innovation and excellence. The many programs supported in the bill before us move us in the direction of delivery system reform, which is so important to our effort.

By promoting innovative practices, such as accountable care organizations, payment reform, and medical homes, we can move away from the current fee-for-service system that rewards volume over value. That is true reform.

I urge my colleagues to support the bill.