In 1965, President Johnson said Medicare proved that “the vitality of our democracy can shape the oldest of our values to the needs and obligations of today.” 

There are important days to mark in our lives. I think the 45^th anniversary of the enactment of Medicare is one of them, July 30^th, 2010.

These are very hard times. So many people in this country have been suffering for a long time. I see the current Great Recession as a terrible additional weight of pain and suffering that comes atop a generation of loss for America’s working families.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the growth of the economy slid backward in the second quarter of this year. It went from a 3.7% increase in the first quarter to only 2.4% increase in the second quarter. Most economists agree that in order to reduce unemployment one full percentage point requires an annual economic growth rate of 5%!

And in this period, the cost of health care has been a major driver of impoverishment in addition to job losses, income losses, the necessity of people relying on credit to make ends meet, and the nation reaching a point, for the first time, that the next generation will have less security than its predecessor.

The anniversary of Medicare’s enactment and President Johnson’s call to “shape the oldest of our values to the needs and obligations of today,” could not be more important!

Medicare, health reform, and KP

Under our new health care reform law, Medicare will become the centerpiece for innovation to show how better care can be delivered more affordably. President Obama’s choice to head Medicare, Dr. Donald Berwick, is the person best equipped to lead this effort as I have written in earlier blogs. Obviously, Dr. Berwick cannot succeed without help, and no organization can help lead the transformation of health care better than Kaiser Permanente and its unionized workforce.

Dr. Berwick knows all about our unit-based teams. He knows all about our Partnership. He has taught a generation of practitioners, health systems leaders, and policy makers to “have the courage to trust in the frontline,” and to build a system that meets the patients’ needs.

Every day, the Coalition of Unions, the Hospitals aand Health planand Permanente Medical group leadership are working to break down barriers, build consensus, and collaborate to improve our quality of care and the cost associated with providing that care. Medicare will be an engine of reward or punishment depending on how health systems perform. KaiserPermanente can lead the nation in innovation and be rewarded for doing so. It will take the day-to-day work of tens of thousands of frontline teams to make it happen.

This is our way of “meeting the obligations of today.”

What a great privilege to be in this position. It is a tribute to all in the organizations who have gotten out of bed every day and worked to maintain this Partnership in good times and in not so good times. After nearly 14 years, our LMP continues to be a key strategic driver. Our efforts are in place to support a frontline that feels safe and secure to create new systems and solve the problems of improvement. Going forward, we must make a relentless commitment to support a learning environment to empower creativity and compassion in our frontline of caregivers.

For fun, and a bit of celebration of this anniversary and what we can accomplish, watch Andy Griffith’s Medicare message to celebrate its 45^th anniversary…it is sure to make you smile!