Comprehensive info guide is solution to health care problem, Leavitt says

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt said the debate about health care reform boils down to picking one of two competing ideas: a government-run and -owned universal system or a system driven by consumer choice.

"I believe that this problem is mature and ripe, but I do believe we're at a crossroads and the core lynchpin issue is what's the role of government," Leavitt said.

Leavitt, a Republican and former three-term governor of Utah, said the only way to create a sustainable, affordable health care system is for government to leave decisions up to consumers and organize a competitive market that drives down costs.

"Someone in the future is going to be making decisions about your health. Do you want it to be the government, do you want it to be insurance companies, or do you want it to be you?" Leavitt said. "Those who generally use the word 'universal' are signaling they would like the government to have a very heavy role and own the system and to make the decisions."

The former governor made his comments while speaking to a crowd of students at the Hinckley Institute of Politics on Thursday. His speech focused on health care reform and the safety of imported goods.

Leavitt said those who want a universal system are unwisely focused on providing coverage for the millions of uninsured Americans. Instead, he said, the focus should be on cutting costs. By simply insuring everyone, the government would drive up costs and create an expensive entitlement that is ultimately unsustainable.

"You cannot solve the problem of the uninsured without dealing with the cost," he said.

Leavitt said the government should play the role of organizer and work to provide consumers with information about cost and quality.

"What we know is that whenever people have information and have choices, two things happen: the cost goes down, and the quality goes up," he said. "When consumers are in charge of the market, things get better and less expensive."

Kasie Goodwin, a sophomore in biochemistry, agrees with Leavitt that competition will create more affordable, high quality care.

"I think competition is the invisible hand," she said.

Other students said they support a universal system. Amie Richards, a sophomore political science major, said she likes the idea of having a government-managed universal system.

"I don't think it should be owned by the government, but it should be regulated," Richards said.

Leavitt said students should be particularly concerned about health care reform because Medicaid and other entitlement programs are running a deficit. He said the solution is focusing on consumer costs now.

"(Health care is) also a big problem for you, because it won't be my generation that pays that cost -- it will be yours," he said. "At some point, Congress will have to wrestle with that."

Leavitt paid particular attention to improving consumer access to information about cost and value, saying that informed consumers can create competition and drive down costs.

To illustrate his point, Leavitt told the audience about his personal experience comparing prices for a colonoscopy. To find out how much the procedure would cost, Leavitt called two hospitals. He was struck when the hospital couldn't answer his question. So, he contacted two individual doctors to ask them. One doctor said the cost was $6,500, the other said $5,500. Shocked by the cost, he then contacted a Utah doctor to see if it would be cheaper to get the procedure done on a trip to Utah. The Utah doctor told him it would only cost $3,000.

He said the difference prompted him to wonder if there was difference in quality. The problem is that, like other consumers, he didn't have access to information about quality.

Leavitt also emphasized the importance of preventative care, pointing out that 75 percent of all health care costs in America are from treating preventable chronic illnesses.

He told students that eating right, exercising and getting preventative screenings are all important steps. If Americans continue to make bad choices, he said the whole economy will suffer.

"Much of our economic prosperity in the future will be dependent upon the way we choose our habits -- a healthy workforce is a prosperous workforce," he said. "It's in our hands to deal with this problem one person at a time."

d.gardiner@chronicle.utah.edu