05 Apr 2009 05:00 AM
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission Says Health Care Reform Won't Solve Nation's Health Problems
Essential as health care reform is, it will not be enough to close most of the gap between how healthy Americans are and how healthy they could be. Without urgent action to take proven steps that can make a big difference in health, America's children could have sicker, shorter lives than their parents, according to a prominent national commission.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Commission to Build a Healthier America today urged all Americans to make healthier choices and society to help remove the obstacles so many people face in making those choices, issuing 10 cross-cutting recommendations for improving the nation's health. According to the Commission, how long and how well Americans live depend more on where we live, learn, work and play than on medical care, which accounts for only an estimated 10 to 15 percent of preventable early deaths. Building a healthier nation requires a broader view of health, the Commission said.
The Commission paid particular attention to crafting effective measures for meeting the needs of children and families. "To build a healthier America, it's essential to put improving health front and center on the national agenda outside of health care and health programs," said Commission Co-chair Mark McClellan, former head of the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. "Today's children are at greater risk for a lifetime of poor health, limiting their opportunities for productive and long lives. This is unacceptable, but the evidence is clear that it doesn't have to be that way."
According to the Commission, Americans are not nearly as healthy as they should be - regardless of where they live and their income, education and racial or ethnic group. Good health begins with personal responsibility, but the nation's health will not improve unless individuals do more to incorporate health into all aspects of everyday life, and unless leaders do more in their decision making to support healthier decisions - from education to child care to community planning to business practices, the Commission said. The Commission spent a year exploring the state of America's health and how health is shaped by where and how people live their lives.
"Everyone must be involved in the effort to improve health because health is everyone's business," said Co-chair Alice M. Rivlin, former head of the White House Office of Management and Budget and the first director of the Congressional Budget Office. "People should make healthy choices by eating better, getting enough physical activity and not smoking. Communities and employers should support those choices by creating healthy environments. And the federal government should make and enforce healthy policies, like ensuring that all subsidized food is healthy and junk food is eliminated from schools."
The RWJF Commission is a national, independent and nonpartisan group comprising innovators and leaders with a rich diversity of experience and depth of knowledge. (See attached list of Commission members.) The Commission's charge was to focus on factors beyond medical care to identify practical and innovative strategies for improving the nation's health.
The Commission's recommendations are rooted in the twin philosophy that good health requires individuals to make responsible personal choices and society to remove the obstacles blocking too many Americans from making healthier choices and leading healthier lives. Given the seriousness of the nation's economic downturn, the Commission also focused on developing proven and feasible recommendations that offer the strongest potential to leverage limited resources. Among the Commission's key recommendations are:
- Give kids a healthy start. Ensure that all children, especially very young children in low-income families, have high-quality education and child care…
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Commission to Build a Healthier America today urged all Americans to make healthier choices and society to help remove the obstacles so many people face in making those choices, issuing 10 cross-cutting recommendations for improving the nation's health. According to the Commission, how long and how well Americans live depend more on where we live, learn, work and play than on medical care, which accounts for only an estimated 10 to 15 percent of preventable early deaths. Building a healthier nation requires a broader view of health, the Commission said.
The Commission paid particular attention to crafting effective measures for meeting the needs of children and families. "To build a healthier America, it's essential to put improving health front and center on the national agenda outside of health care and health programs," said Commission Co-chair Mark McClellan, former head of the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. "Today's children are at greater risk for a lifetime of poor health, limiting their opportunities for productive and long lives. This is unacceptable, but the evidence is clear that it doesn't have to be that way."
According to the Commission, Americans are not nearly as healthy as they should be - regardless of where they live and their income, education and racial or ethnic group. Good health begins with personal responsibility, but the nation's health will not improve unless individuals do more to incorporate health into all aspects of everyday life, and unless leaders do more in their decision making to support healthier decisions - from education to child care to community planning to business practices, the Commission said. The Commission spent a year exploring the state of America's health and how health is shaped by where and how people live their lives.
"Everyone must be involved in the effort to improve health because health is everyone's business," said Co-chair Alice M. Rivlin, former head of the White House Office of Management and Budget and the first director of the Congressional Budget Office. "People should make healthy choices by eating better, getting enough physical activity and not smoking. Communities and employers should support those choices by creating healthy environments. And the federal government should make and enforce healthy policies, like ensuring that all subsidized food is healthy and junk food is eliminated from schools."
The RWJF Commission is a national, independent and nonpartisan group comprising innovators and leaders with a rich diversity of experience and depth of knowledge. (See attached list of Commission members.) The Commission's charge was to focus on factors beyond medical care to identify practical and innovative strategies for improving the nation's health.
The Commission's recommendations are rooted in the twin philosophy that good health requires individuals to make responsible personal choices and society to remove the obstacles blocking too many Americans from making healthier choices and leading healthier lives. Given the seriousness of the nation's economic downturn, the Commission also focused on developing proven and feasible recommendations that offer the strongest potential to leverage limited resources. Among the Commission's key recommendations are:
- Give kids a healthy start. Ensure that all children, especially very young children in low-income families, have high-quality education and child care…
