It’s anyone’s guess as to whether the gridlock in Washington will be resolved any time in the near future. For this reason, we must not allow inertia to set in. We have a broken health care system and we can’t expect that any one federal or state policy will fix it. There is so much uncertainty in all sectors of health care that you can almost sense the inertia beginning. We can’t let that happen: we need to continue to push and innovate transparency in the system around quality and cost; we need to continue to support and fund innovation; we need to continue to pilot and experiment with different payment models; and ultimately, we need to continue to push for the new health care system of the 21st century.
It’s hard work, but those of us in the trenches must roll up our sleeves and identify new partners to align with in order to drive toward a new agenda for health care. We must support our colleagues and providers on the ground in their day-to-day efforts to create a higher quality, more efficient system and walk hand-in-hand with them in a spirit of experimentation. We can’t go backward: we need to continue to look forward in our vision of how health care can and should look. We’re the torch bearers and we must continue to carry the torch forward.