Reality and Health Value

It’s time to have some real dialogue around the issue of health care value in this country. New information from the Spectrum Health Value Study™ provides a mirror of what the America people value when they are spending their own health care dollars on health care for themselves and their families.

Perhaps this information will help steady the wobbly stool of health care. Although there is plenty of discussion about health care access and quality, the fact is health care is a three-legged, not a two legged, stool. Access and quality must be steadied by value in health care.

Without value, people don’t know what they are buying and/or they fail to understand the relative value of health care services like immunizations, a visit to the doctor or a trip to the emergency room. Today we released the results of a new study on how Americans value health care. The study reports and additional information can be found at our website www.healthvaluestudy.com.

We did this study because we were curious about how Americans value health care services. Our findings include some surprises in areas including – mental health value – preventive health services – nutrition and – access Last week, GE announced a six billion (yes, with a “B”) dollar program to improve health care. GE chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt was quoted as saying, “Health care is an important industry that is challenged by rising costs, inequality of access and persistent quality issues.”

Again, the discussion is around access and quality with no mention of value. When you are preparing to spend six billion dollars, one would think you would be somewhat concerned about value! We want to be that ‘someone’ talking about value. We hope you will join the dialogue.

Smart people outside the beltway

One advantage of working in health policy and its research is the opportunity, on occasion, to do focus group research around the country. This week I traveled to Richmond, VA and Philly, PA to conduct focus groups with people who had had surgery in the past three years. Not to worry, this blog is not about surgery. What it is about is how smart the average American is and how resilient and reflective they are behaving at this particular moment in our country’s crisis.

When we recruit, or any research company recruits, for focus groups to gather opinion data from Americans it is important to get a good cross-section of people. It is not unusual to see people with incomes between $25,000 and $50,000 for a household, often with this income representing two individuals. The really interesting thing is that this means nothing about how very smart and insightful Americans are, no matter their current earning power. People remain involved in their communities, leading Cub Scout and Girl Scout troops, coaching soccer, taking kids to early morning swim practice AND they are engaged in what is happening in this country.

Despite their consistency with respect to maintaining their lives—and in the case of most of these people—in the face of chronic illnesses—they have such valuable insights into all sorts of issues affecting our country. Basically, they understand the healthcare crisis, know that reform is coming and really want to know how American’s health insurers will perform, as players, in the reform. They are satisfied with their insurance, when they have it, and are empathic with and for people less fortunate than themselves. They are interested in entering a dialogue about how to improve other people’s access to the good quality healthcare, like they received when they had their surgeries or surgery.

Another interesting thing about American’s is their understanding of the need for the health care system to appropriately market itself. During focus groups we often ask them, near the end of a two-hour session, to write their own statement of how they would sell the particular service or product that has been discussed to others that they know and care about—their friends and family. Folks do an amazing job in articulating themselves and the concepts that make up the healthcare system, as well as a great job in wording statements about how healthcare should be ‘sold’ or marketed to the average American. Take heart. American are clever, innovative people. They are engaged in the current situation and see hope on the horizon. They want to be part of the solution and have an underlying belief that things are going to get better within the next year—following some very difficult months.

Good for them. Good for us, good for the U.S. We are on the right track, as long as we keep these great folks in the mix going forward.