Dr. Denis A. Cortese is president and CEO of Mayo Clinic, chairs the board of governors and is a member of the board of trustees. From 1999 to 2002, he served as CEO of Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla.
Cortese is a graduate of Temple University School of Medicine and completed residency training in internal medicine and pulmonary diseases at Mayo Clinic. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he joined the Mayo Clinic staff in late 1976. He is a professor of medicine.
Cortese has a long-standing interest in health policy and healthcare delivery. His memberships include the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (US); the Roundtable on Evidence Based Medicine; Healthcare Leadership Council; Harvard/Kennedy Healthcare Policy Group; Division on Engineering and Physical Science (DEPS) and the National Research Council.
The downsides associated with whether or not states opt in or out pales in comparison to the potential downsides associated with a public option that is not well thought out. Creating a government-run, price-controlled, Medicare-like public plan would be disastrous to the country regardless of who does or does not participate. Many years of experience with Medicare has shown that, despite across-the-board cuts in reimbursement, costs have continued to spiral out of control drawing the country closer to financial ruin. Effective insurance reform should include mandating that individuals purchase insurance through employers, on the individual market, through cooperatives or through private insurance… Read more
There are critical health care functions which must be shielded from the political process in order to facilitate robust reform of health care delivery. Some sort of board that is outside of, but accountable to the government could indeed address some of these functions. Your point regarding the FAA and the aviation system is a prime example. At any time, the President can turn to the FAA for information on death or injury related to aviation. Where can the President turn today for information on the number of patient deaths due to poor quality or safety at an American health institution? … Read more
What's strong? The determination of the President, his administration and Congressional leaders to pursue meaningful health care reform and ensure access and health care coverage for more Americans makes this an incredibly hopeful time. It is vital that the energy currently being devoted to health care reform discussions does not become diluted or diverted by parochial political interests. What's missing? Without actual delivery system change (to create care services that are coordinated and centered around the needs of the patient) reform measures will deliver more of the same and run the risk of making matters worse. To drive change in… Read more
It is very feasible to look within the current health care system to reduce waste and inefficiencies to save money. The areas outlined by Senators Baucus and Grassley are ripe with savings. But we need not stop there. To acquire even more savings and efficiency, we need to look broadly at the science of health care delivery, new care delivery models, and teamwork among health professionals. We need to create an integrated, coordinated care system that rewards better quality, better safety and better service delivered at a lower cost. The proposal to ensure appropriate payment and reduce geographic variation is… Read more
Responding to the question related to clearing up fraud and abuse in Medicare... Eliminating fraud and waste is always welcome, and should be pursued. However, there is more that needs to be done to increase the benefit of Medicare; primarily, we must reconfigure Medicare to pay for value. Overutilization of services is a critical part of the issue, even if it doesn't rise to the level of fraud. Billions of dollars are wasted each year because Medicare pays the most to providers and geographic areas of the country that provide the lowest quality care at the highest costs. The fee-for-service… Read more
Any conversation related to health care reform needs to begin with the question "What is the benefit to patients?" In the case of comparative effectiveness, we can say it is a fundamental component to providing the highest quality, most effective, safest health care for individual patients. Physicians and patients need to have the best information about the effectiveness of diagnostics, medications, therapies, procedures and behaviors in order to make the best decisions at the point of care when it is needed most. It is critical to know not only what best treats disease for a group of patients, but also… Read more
To create meaningful health care reform that benefits patients, every stakeholder will have to rethink their role. As providers, we need to shift our primary focus from providing episodic care for the ill to providing continuing, preventive, coordinated care that keeps people health. There will always be a need for treating the ill, but that should not be the basis of a heatlh care system. Reforming payment to reward coordinated care that creates value (better outcomes, better safety and better service) is something we at Mayo Clinic are excited about. This strategy aligns with the Mayo Clinic Health Policy… Read more
A better approach than employer mandates is to require that all individuals purchase their own health insurance that will be portable (traveling with them from job to job and throughout their lives), affordable, and free of pre-existing condition exclusions. Individuals should own and control their health insurance similar to what we require for auto insurance today. Does that mean there is no role for employers? Of course not. The savvy employers will quickly discover that they will attract and retain the best employees by offering to assist with premium payments, offering wellness and preventive health incentives and rewards, and… Read more
Health care reform measures must include a mechanism for insuring all. However, no insurance requirement, public or private will work unless we simultaneously reform our payment system to pay for value. Through the consensus process of the Mayo Clinic Health Policy Center involving more than 2,000 stakeholders from patients and families, providers, insurers, employers, medical and pharmaceutical industry, government and academia, we agree that everyone must have guaranteed portable health insurance. We would suggest that adults be required to purchase private health insurance, that no one can be turned away because of pre-existing conditions, that employers participate by helping pay… Read more
Related Link: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthpolicycenter
