WASHINGTON — The White House Office of Health Reform sits vacant as the Obama administration regroups from former Sen. Tom Daschle's withdrawal as the person to run it, and to head the Department of Health and Human Services. But last week, the Senate HELP committee heard a request to create another White House office focused specifically on health and wellness.
At a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing Feb. 23, witnesses called for such an office. Under their terms, the central office would coordinate work across government departments and agencies to refocus the health care system on prevention and wellness.
"There may come a time when we won't need one, but right now there needs to be a spotlight on this issue," said Dr. James Gordon, director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine. "We need somebody, some office that's going to really keep an eye and make sure that what's put forward here in Congress, what's put forward by the administration, actually is enacted."
Gordon described the current system as one in which "silos" prevent policy from being implemented successfully across a range of agencies that play a critical role in the health of Americans. According to Gordon and other witnesses, a White House Health and Wellness Office could ensure implementation of health care reform across agencies including HHS, the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency and others.
Other witnesses at the hearing outlined the benefits of integrated health care and said the system needs to shift not only focus, but money as well, from acute care and treatment of diseases toward prevention and wellness.
Wayne B. Jonas, president and CEO of the Samueli Institute, told the committee that if the witnesses' recommendations were applied in a coordinated fashion, "a 'triple multiplier' of health, productivity and economic stimulus would result for the nation."
As Congress mulls health care reform, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who presided over the hearing, said, "Talking about health care and the changes in it is not simply about expanding access to acute care or even expanding access to physicians' care, though they will be a pillar to whatever ultimately Congress does … Our goal in health care reform is to focus on improving quality of care." Simply having access to more doctors will not help without policy changes in areas like agriculture, community planning and environmental protection, she said.
At a second hearing on the subject of integrative health care Feb. 26, witnesses told the committee that incorporating prevention and alternative medical approaches into health care reform could both cut costs and improve patient health.
According to Dr. Andrew Weil, director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, "there's nothing finer in the world than American medical technology, but we're trying to use this for everything that comes in the door."
Healthy choices about diet, stress, exercise and other lifestyle factors can prevent disease and reduce chronic conditions, he and other witnesses said.
Read and watch last week's testimony at the "Principles of Integrative Health: A Path to Health Care Reform" and the "Integrative Care: A Pathway to a Healthier Nation" hearings.