Investigator Awards In Health Policy Research Investigator Awards in Health Policy Research
55 Commercial Ave.
Third Floor
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1340		 Tel: (732) 932-3817
Fax: (732) 932-3819
Email: depdir@ifh.rutgers.edu
www.investigatorawards.org
www.rwjf.org
Publications » Featured Books by Investigators:
Section Info
Investigator publications listed on this site relate to research funded through the Investigator Awards program. References are provided for books and selected journal articles written by the investigators. Abstracts are available for some featured publications.
»Go to: Featured Books | All Books | Book Chapters | Journal Articles
Cover
Total Cure: The Antidote to the Health Care Crisis
Luft, H.S
Published: 2008
Harvard University Press
»Show summary
Proposals to reform the health care system typically focus on either increasing private insurance or expanding government-sponsored plans. Guaranteeing that everyone is insured, however, does not create a system with the quality of care patients want, the flexibility clinicians need, and the internal dynamics to continually improve the value of health care.

In Total Cure, Hal Luft presents a comprehensive new proposal, SecureChoice, which does all that while providing affordable health insurance for every American. SecureChoice is a plan that restructures payment for medical care, harnessing the flexibility and responsiveness of the market by aligning the incentives of clinicians, hospitals, and insurers with those of the patient. It uses the accountability of government to ensure transparency, competition, and equity.

SecureChoice has two major components. A universal pool covers the major risks of hospitalization and chronic illness, which account for almost two-thirds of all costs. Everyone would be in the pool, irrespective of employment, income, or health status. The second component emphasizes choice, flexibility, and responsibility. People will be able to choose any physician to serve as their “medical home,” to keep track of their health records, provide much of their care, and suggest referrals. Clinicians will have the information and incentives to continually enhance quality. SecureChoice also facilitates improvements in areas ranging from malpractice to pharmaceuticals and establishes new roles for key stakeholders such as health insurers.

Linked Investigator Award(s):
Harold S. Luft, Ph.D.Reconfiguring the US Health Care System: Function, Form, and Feasibility
Award Year: 2004

»Show Abstract
In Reconfiguring the U.S. Health Care System: Function, Form, and Feasibility, Harold S. Luft, Ph.D. searches for workable approaches to reorganizing American health care. Recognizing the daunting nature of this task, Dr. Luft starts with what works well, considers how key functions can be reorganized and financed, and examines how to engage and influence multiple stakeholders and use new technologies to promote change. Along the way, he tackles serious challenges: the difficulties for patients in navigating the health care system; fragmented payment systems and their added costs; the often-conflicting concerns and needs of providers, insurers, and the pharmaceutical industry; political realities; diagnostic and treatment uncertainties; and the role of interest groups. Yet Dr. Luft believes it is possible to think more creatively about solutions that could allow most stakeholders to be "winners." He plans to produce a book that focuses more on the health care system's actors and processes than on costs and coverage, and explores a series of options for reconfiguring the U.S. health care system.
More Books by Author(s):
Cover
Luft, H.S, Total Cure: The Antidote to the Health Care Crisis. Harvard University Press, 2008.