BRIEF: Hospital CEO: Reform won't fix health care | Insurance.us

by Northwest Florida Daily News

By Dusty Ricketts, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach

Jan. 7–SANDESTIN — The president and CEO of Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast does not believe the proposed health insurance reform will improve care because the problems are larger than that.

Roger Hall, the hospital’s top executive, told a large group at Wednesday’s Walton Area Chamber of Commerce’s Power of Business luncheon that the nation’s entire health care system is broken, not just insurance.

“Do we need health care reform? Certainly,” he said.

The United States spends 18 percent of its gross domestic product on health care, more money than any other developed nation, Hall said. Other counties spend about 7 to 10 percent of their gross domestic product on health care, he noted.

Despite the additional funding, the United States typically ranks at or near the bottom when compared to the mortality rates of other developed countries.

Hall also spoke about health care on the state and local level.

Florida ranks 36th in the nation for health care, while NorthwestFlorida’smortality rates for nearly every major cause of death is higher than the state averages.

The region does perform better with childbirth. The area’s low birth weight births and infant mortality are well below the national average, Hall said.

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Source: BRIEF: Hospital CEO: Reform won't fix health care | Insurance.us