Debate has evolved to focusing on ‘wrong’ issues

For more than a year, the debate on how to overhaul the nation's health system has gone on and on in Washington and beyond, and maybe, too, the reporter's question about being tired of it also had gone on and on . . .

Because, all of a sudden, Steven Udvarhelyi dropped his polite corporate tone and snapped out an answer:

"I'm not tired of this," said Udvarhelyi, a physician and executive vice president for health services at Independence Blue Cross. "This is my life's work.

"But I am frustrated that the debate has evolved to focus on the wrong areas," he said. "And I'm worried that if others are tired, they will try to force a quick and easy solution that has bad or unintended consequences."

In the year's debate, insurance has certainly taken a hit.

President Obama slammed insurers' high profits and criticized some insurers' hefty premium increases. Common practices - turning away those with existing conditions or raising prices based on medical history - have come under fire. Some of the proposed solutions, including single-payer and public option, would hurt the insurance industry.

Meanwhile, Independence Blue Cross, the region's largest insurer, has its own problems. It had massive layoffs. It cut plans and increased costs of many products.

At the same time, the company is involved in pilot projects to improve care. And in New Jersey, Independence Blue Cross and other insurers are experimenting with a method to simplify administrative paperwork.

"We certainly believe that the status quo is both unacceptable and unsustainable," Udvarhelyi said. "We really shouldn't have a system where one out of every seven people don't have adequate health-care coverage.

"To do it appropriately, you have to bring health-care costs under control while improving quality," he said.

"That is a major concern," he said. "They focus on expanding access without an adequate focus on the rising prices of medical services."

Like many others, Udvarhelyi finds himself frustrated by the twists and turns in the debate. "For us to really make good policy, we need to react not based on anecdotal information that most of us see," he said.

"Everybody wants to regulate insurance companies," he said, "because it is politically easier to regulate premiums than it is to solve the true underlying reasons for health-care costs."