Leavitt touts his health-care plan

Imagine visiting a doctor without having to fill out information on a clipboard. Imagine being able to shop for quality in health care like you'd shop for the best cell phone plan.

Imagine being able to afford it.

Mike Leavitt, U.S. secretary of health and human services and former governor of Utah, stumped Friday for a plan he says will lead to the creation of a health-care system that is based on competition and value and accessible to all.

The plan is controversial. And there are competing proposals floating about, some from 2008 presidential candidates.

"There are two distinctly different approaches being proposed to solve this problem," Leavitt said. "One approach is for the federal government to insure everybody: one plan for everyone, run out of Washington. I believe the result of such a program is predictable: we'd have less choice, we'd have longer waits, we'd have lower satisfaction from the people who are served, and we'd clearly have higher taxes.

"The alternative is not only better, in my own judgment it's substantially more likely to be accepted by the people of this country, who really don't like the idea of the federal government running their health-care system. To solve the problems of the uninsured, we need a partnership: a partnership between government and the private sector, each doing what it does best."

The administration's Value-Driven Health Care proposal has four pillars:

• Electronic health records, accessed through computer systems that are compatible so that information can be appropriately shared.

• Industry standards and quality measures so consumers have the information they need to find the best care.

• Comparable prices, a means of assuring that cost information is available, understandable and comparable.

• Proper incentives, which increase quality and keep costs down. Transparent quality and price information makes those incentives possible, Leavitt said.

"We are surrounded by economic systems that make costs lower," Leavitt said, pointing to telephone, banking and airline systems. "In each of these systems, there is aggressive competition for our business. In each, the entrants have adopted common standards to optimize value to customers."

In the coming months, Leavitt said he will crisscross the country talking about the plan. On Friday, companies and organizations represent- ing more than 700,000 Utah workers signed statements of support for the initiative. Employers signing on included Intermountain Healthcare, Zions Bancorp., Rocky Mountain Power and Utah Manufacturers Association.