President Obama Addresses Cost Containment and Quality of Care

President Obama recently spoke at a town hall meeting on healthcare reform. During this event, he remarked that if one of his family members were facing serious illness, he would "always want them to get the very best care," regardless of cost. This comment has been quite controversial in the health policy arena, as some experts interpret it to mean that he himself would not want to be subjected to the kind of healthcare rationing that he is proposing for the rest of America. However, others believe he was really trying to make a point about healthcare quality, and what exactly it means to get the "very best care." Sometimes, especially with healthcare, more is not always better. The "very best care" could be nothing at all.

These issues of cost containment and healthcare quality take center stage as the Senate and House work towards finalizing their reform bill drafts. They will be faced with difficult decisions about how to direct our limited and finite financial resources towards providing the best possible care for as many Americans as possible.