Us Comptroller calls for universal access to health care to cut long term spending

Highlights of a GAO Forum on the future of health care costs have just been published.  In the report, the nation’s top accountant makes a number of recommendations.  A summary:

With regard to our health care system, specifically, the public needs to be educated about the differences between wants, needs, affordability, and sustainability at both the individual and aggregate level.
Mr. Walker concluded that comprehensive health care reform will probably need to occur in installments over a number of years. Our goals should be fourfold:

• Provide universal access to basic and essential health care.
• Impose limits on federal spending for health care.
• Implement national, evidence-based medical practice standards to improve quality, control costs, and reduce litigation risks.
• Take steps to ensure that all Americans assume more personal responsibility and accountability for their own health and wellness.

Read all about it at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d071155sp.pdf