Candidates poke at gorilla of health reform, but can they tame it?

October 2, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Candidates poke at gorilla of health reform, but can they tame it? John C. Hayes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In an online survey posted this fall on the Diagnosticimaging.com website, we asked respondents how important it is that the next president and Congress enact substantial reforms of the healthcare system. With 130 votes in as of this writing, 73% answered very important and 15% somewhat important. Only 9% answered not important. Another 3% didn't know. We know, of course, that this is not a scientific survey, but it does offer some guidance about attitudes in the radiology community. We also know that by being involved in that community, the respondents probably have an above-average knowledge of healthcare issues. And we know, based on their answers, that all but a handful of the respondents agree that the U.S. healthcare system is in distress, if not broken. Fifteen years after Bill and Hillary Clinton tackled the healthcare quagmire, the issue is back with a vengeance and the problems are more acute. The number of uninsured, now estimated at 47 million, has continued to increase, as have costs, to the point where healthcare now makes up 16% of the gross domestic product and accounts for about one-quarter of federal spending. Commonly measured health outcomes, however, often lag other industrialized nations and, in some instances, even emerging nations.

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