CMS Administrator Don Berwick, MD, tried to counter his image as a proponent of rationing and healthcare bureaucracy in his first major speech since taking office, according to a report by the St. Petersburg Times.
Speaking before representatives of the insurance industry at meeting of America's Health Insurance Plans, he said cost-cutting measures should not involve "withholding from us, or our neighbors, any care that helps." He added that "a massive, top-down, national project is not the way" to transform healthcare delivery.
Previously, Dr. Berwick told the Associated Press: "The decision is not whether or not we will ration care. The decision is whether we will ration with our eyes open, and right now, we are doing it blindly." And in a 2008 speech, he said he was "in love" with Britain’s National Health Service, which operates the country's entire public healthcare system.
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Speaking before representatives of the insurance industry at meeting of America's Health Insurance Plans, he said cost-cutting measures should not involve "withholding from us, or our neighbors, any care that helps." He added that "a massive, top-down, national project is not the way" to transform healthcare delivery.
Previously, Dr. Berwick told the Associated Press: "The decision is not whether or not we will ration care. The decision is whether we will ration with our eyes open, and right now, we are doing it blindly." And in a 2008 speech, he said he was "in love" with Britain’s National Health Service, which operates the country's entire public healthcare system.
Read related coverage on Don Berwick, MD.
-Top 10 Hospital Stories of 2010
-Don Berwick Refuses Sen. Grassley's Request for Donor List
-Don Berwick Plans to Hand Out Billions for CMS Reform Experiments