Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease

On Friday, MS Activist Alex O'Connor attended the The Old North State Medical Society's Leadership Summit. Dr. Ken Thorpe, Executive Director of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease was honored for his work on health care reform. Here are Alex's take home points from Dr. Thorpe's speech on passing health care reform:

• In 1993, during the debate on health care, Thorpe described the attitude of policy makers was to get your first choice and if you could not have your first choice you chose the status quo. This time around, Thorpe said no one will get their first choice, instead changing the status quo has to be our first choice.

• Dr. Thorpe and G.K. Butterfield, who were both given awards for their work on health care reform acknowledged that there are political hot buttons in HB 3962 you are hearing about in the media like immigration, abortion, taxes, and the cost. However, what you do not hear about in HB 3962 are all the common sense things like 85/15 - insurance companies having to spend 85% on health care and make no more than 15% in profits.

• A health care reform bill has to be passed, the status quo can't stand any longer. We need to put aside partisanship, where we stand on abortion, how much of a public option there is, or our views on immigration. I am willing to give up my first choice to do the right thing and fight to end the status quo of health care now.