It’s Wednesday. I woke up. I shaved and drove to work. My EZPass still worked.
It’s Wednesday and Barack Obama is our President-Elect.
Please note the possessive – “our” – because he will shortly be the President of the United States. The whole United States. Red states and blue states. He’s our president regardless of political affiliation or policy position. It also means he’s obligated to listen to the opinions of all Americans – not just those who agree with his agenda.
Specifically, his healthcare agenda. To that point:
It’s Wednesday and drug importation is still an unsafe, unsound idea.
It’s Wednesday, Part D is still a resounding success and the Non-Interference clause is still a good idea.
It’s Wednesday and the VA formulary still contains less than 65 percent the nation's 300 most-popular prescription drugs.
It’s Wednesday and the tools for proper healthcare technology assessment (comparative effectiveness) still need to be redefined and reconfigured from cost-based to patient-centric measurements.
It’s Wednesday and the FDA is still under-funded.
It’s Wednesday and industry-supported CME is still working.
It’s Wednesday and incremental innovation vis-à-vis the development of new medicines is still misunderstood.
It’s Wednesday and there’s still no such thing as a “me-too” medicine.
It’s Wednesday and direct-to-consumer advertising is still a valuable consumer education tool.
It’s Wednesday and the pipeline is still dry. – although not as dry as some think.
It’s Wednesday and we still haven’t adequately addressed the unintended consequences of communicating early safety signals.
It’s Wednesday and Reagan/Udall Foundation funding remains hostage to political posturing.
It’s Wednesday and DSHEA is still a disaster.
It’s Wednesday and Americans still cannot buy health insurance competitively across state lines.
It’s Wednesday. Tomorrow’s Thursday – which means the weekend is within sight. Let’s take that opportunity to sit back and reflect on all the work we need to do – together – to reform American healthcare for all of us and with all of us as partners.
That’s change we can all support.
Center for Medicine in the Public Interest is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization promoting innovative solutions that advance medical progress, reduce health disparities, extend life and make health care more affordable, preventive and patient-centered. CMPI also provides the public, policymakers and the media a reliable source of independent scientific analysis on issues ranging from personalized medicine, food and drug safety, health care reform and comparative effectiveness.
