Can we fix health care in America?

Summit host Donna Shalala.
Photo courtesy of the University of Miami.

Today marks the launch of a series of “Summit Conversations,” sponsored by the America’s Agenda Health Care Education Fund, and the message of the consensus-building talks is two-fold:

Yes we can fix health care, and only if we do it together, connecting political and private sectors under shared goals. The Summit Conversations will focus on such issues as disease prevention, disease management and access to insurance for all, to name a few.

Summit Conversation will take place in cities around the country over the course of the year, and today’s kicks off at the University of Miami. It will be hosted by University of Miami President Donna Shalala, former Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Shalala published an op-ed in the Miami Herald where she outlines the economic toll of our current health care system and, more importantly, why now is the time for consensus:

“The Summit Conversations commence at an opportune time. Recent polls show three-quarters of Americans expect major healthcare reform legislation to be passed in President Barack Obama's first term. Democratic leaders in Congress are reaching across the aisle for bipartisan support, and there are promising responses from business and labor.”

You can read the entire piece here, and let me know what you think.