About a year ago, those of us working on the Presidential Transition were taking the first steps on the road towards reforming our health care system under the Obama Administration. We knew that this wasn’t an academic issue or an issue just for the political scoreboards – we had to hear from the American people first on exactly what problems they were facing, and what they wanted to see changed.
And so in December 2008, we invited Americans across the country to host and participate in Health Care Community Discussions to talk about the problems they faced with the health care system and proposed solutions. Over 9,000 Americans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia signed up during the holiday season to host a Health Care Community Discussion, coming from every walk of life – patients, doctors, nurses, religious leaders, first responders, and small business owners. Robert from Indiana explained, “Our neighbors include a broad and diverse cross-section of America. Within a few miles we have steel mills, inner cities, suburbs, and farms…Our event will demonstrate…the level of understanding among Americans regarding the need for access [to health care] by all Americans, and ideas for achieving that goal.” Elizabeth from South Carolina noted that her discussion would “show everyone that even the true middle class is really struggling with this issue.” Across the country, over 30,000 friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers gathered in homes, offices, coffee shops, fire houses, universities, and community centers to discuss reforming our health care system.
After each Health Care Community Discussion, hosts were asked to submit the results of a Participant Survey as well as a report that summarized the group’s main concerns and suggestions. The health reform team and a group of dedicated volunteers read and analyzed 3,276 group reports, a process that was as rewarding and illuminating as it was time-consuming. When we held the White House Forum on Health Reform in March of this year, launching our push from the White House in earnest, President Obama received a final report on the Discussions: “Americans Speak on Health Reform: Report on Health Care Community Discussions.”
And now, as we move into the final stretch of this road towards the historic passage of health insurance reform, we wanted to take a look at how the legislation we’ve seen emerge from Congress addresses many of the concerns, questions, suggestions, and solutions we heard about a year ago.
Fonte: White House