Michael E. Porters A Strategy for Health Care Reform - Article Example

According to the author, moving toward universal insurance coverage as well as restructuring the care delivery system is essential for true reform and a value-based system is the most fundamental means to achieve this. Therefore, the main arguments of the article are related to the essence of a value-based system which can ensure an effective strategy for health care reforms. In the article, the author analyzes various critical steps to achieve universal coverage in a way that will support, rather than impede, a basic reorientation of the delivery system around value for patients.

In the first place, it is important to change the nature of health insurance competition and the insurers should flourish only if they improve their subscribers' health. Secondly, it is essential to keep employers in the insurance system and create a level playing field for employers that offer coverage by penalizing employers that are free riders. Next, one needs to address the unfair burden on people who have no access to employer-based coverage. In order to make individual insurance affordable, large statewide or multistate insurance pools can be useful.

The author also maintains the relevance of a reinsurance system which justifiably spreads the cost of insuring Americans with very expensive health problems. The author supports income-based subsidies which can be helpful for lower-income people to buy insurance. According to the author, when a value-based insurance market is in place, everyone should purchase health insurance in order that younger and healthier people cannot take a back seat. "Although most U.S. health care reform efforts have focused on coverage, the far bigger long-term driver of success will come from restructuring the delivery system.

That is where most of the value is created and most of the costs are incurred." (Porter, 2009). The article maintains that one of the major reasons for the failures of the incremental reforms in the area is because the current delivery system is not organized around value for patients and it is fundamental to follow a series of mutually reinforcing steps in order to achieve a value-based delivery system. Thus, the author purports that the measurement and dissemination of health outcomes should become obligatory for every provider and every medical condition.

According to Porter, it is essential to thoroughly reexamine how to organize the delivery of prevention, wellness, screening, and routine health maintenance services. Next, the author emphasizes the importance of reorganizing care delivery around medical conditions as the current system is uncoordinated. As the next step, the author suggests that we need a compensation system that aligns everyone's interests around improving value for patients. The service providers should be able to compete for patients derived from the value at the medical-condition level.

According to the author, the electronic medical records will enable value improvement, if they support integrated care and outcome measurement. "Finally, consumers must become much more involved in their health and health care. Unless patients comply with care and take responsibility for their health, even the best doctor or team will fail." (Porter, 2009). In conclusion, Michael E. porter makes a profound analysis of the value-based system in order to suggest why it is an effective strategy for health care reform in the contemporary U.S.health care system.