How To Fix Obama's Health Plan Before It's Too Late

The Chinese word for crisis is comprised of two separate words, "danger" and "opportunity" -- and this describes the exact situation we face with the healthcare crisis in our country.

As a nation we are at the precipice of change for our healthcare system.

But if we make the wrong choices and simply provide universal coverage to an outdated 19th and 20th century model of medicine, this crisis will lead us into danger.

However, there are different choices we can make now that will lead to profound opportunity -- one that may provide real solutions to our healthcare crisis.

Today, I will outline a 9-point plan for real healthcare reform. This plan takes into account all of the changes we need to make -- including the fundamental shift in the type of medicine we practice -- if we are going to truly resolve the health catastrophe in this country.

Hope for a Brighter Future in Medicine

Despite the looming dangers we face as we work to change medicine, I have hope.

Over the last few months, I have been privileged to participate in events at the nexus of change that have all focused on fundamentally changing our disease-based healthcare system to one focused on creating health and wellness.

These ideas are not yet at the center of the healthcare debate, but they must be -- and they can be.

In February of this year, the Institute of Medicine held a Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public at the National Academy of Sciences. Six hundred key leaders and stakeholders in healthcare including educators, scientists, community leaders, practitioners, lawmakers, policy makers, and insurance leaders attended it.

It was a broad coalition that came together with a common purpose to change not only the way we practice medicine, but also the type of medicine we practice.

I believe the medicine at the core of healthcare reform must be founded on the clinical model and framework for practice developed by the Institute for Functional Medicine, a nonprofit organization of which I am a member. The Institute's mission is to support the widespread adoption of functional medicine.

This new way of thinking about health and disease is the biggest secret in healthcare today, yet it is the most effective model to address the current drivers of cost and chronic disease. To spread the word, the Institute recently published a detailed white paper called "21st Century Medicine: A New Model for Medical Education and Practice."

The same week the white paper was published, I testified on integrative and functional medicine before Senator Edward Kennedy's Senate working group on healthcare reform, alongside other leaders in healthcare including Drs. Dean Ornish, Mehmet Oz, and Andrew Weil. The full testimony is available from the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, "Integrative Care: A Pathway to a Healthier Nation."

I also met with key policy makers in the White House. and was heartened by their openness and willingness to find a way to true healthcare reform.

More recently, at a retreat center on the edge of a Minnesota pond, I was privileged to be part of a think tank sponsored by the National Institutes of Health on "whole systems research."

It was an international gathering of systems biologists, mathematicians, physicists, geneticists, physiologists, psychologists, researchers, and doctors from a dozen countries and diverse backgrounds -- Palestinians and Jews, Chinese and Iraqis, French and Germans -- all exploring very important but neglected questions that hold the solution to our epidemic of chronic disease.

In this isolated place, the thinkers with their fingers on the pulse of the future all suddenly came to the same conclusion. The way we do research doesn't help us understand how things really work as a whole, integrated system.

In other words, the current model of studying one drug, chemical pathway, or gene for one disease doesn't give us useful answers to how we get sick and how we can get well.

What everyone at the conference understood at that moment is the same truth we need to come to as a nation ...

The old, conventional model of medicine and scientific research is simply outdated. It must give way to a new way of thinking about health and illness and a new method for medical practice.

A 9-Point Plan for Real Healthcare Reform

I believe that real healthcare reform is now possible because of a perfect storm where alignment of economic, scientific, and moral imperatives provides us an opportunity to do well as a nation by doing good, through fundamentally changing the kind of medicine we practice.

But to achieve that goal will require the collective imagination, intention, focus, and action of healthcare providers, consumers, industry, and policy makers.

A coordinated effort across government agencies and industry sectors focusing on health and wellness, incorporating what we already know, is urgently needed. We also need leadership at the highest levels of the White House to successfully create a culture of health and wellness and transform our healthcare system.

The 9-point plan below, while not at the center of the healthcare debate, is essential to create real change and avert disaster.

Just as horse-and-buggy makers gave way to the automobile, and 8-track tape manufacturers gave way to the iPod so must conventional medicine give way to a new way of practice.

Yes, some industries will fade, as funds are allocated toward policies and initiatives that prevent and treat chronic disease through dietary, lifestyle, and community interventions instead of expensive drugs and medical technologies. But other industries that promote health and wellness will flourish in their place.

These policies and initiatives are necessary for healthcare reform that addresses the true causes of our chronic disease epidemic and exploding costs. These are the changes that must be made if we are going to fix our broken healthcare system:

1. Change reimbursement to include payment for healthcare teams focused on lifestyle treatments for chronic disease and the use of functional medicine, not just for expensive (and often unproven) procedures.


2. Improve research by comparing existing drug- and procedure-based medicine to changes in lifestyle, diet, and other functional and integrative approaches.

3. Transform medical education by including nutrition, lifestyle, and environmental factors as core components of the education of health professionals and physicians.

4. Establish an Institute for Functional Medicine at the federal level that would develop the educational curriculum for medical schools, residencies, postgraduate education, and other health professionals.

5. Improve food policy, agriculture policy, and school and community environments to encourage health by prohibiting food that is known to promote obesity and disease and providing whole, real, fresh foods for our children. Obese teenagers have the same risk of premature death as heavy smokers. We wouldn't feed our dogs cola, burgers, and fries -- so why do we feed them to our children?

6. Conduct projects in community health centers that demonstrate how offering inexpensive, nutritious meals (including takeout), recreational facilities, lifestyle counseling/education (like cooking classes), and healthcare based on functional medicine at one location can dramatically improve health outcomes.

7. Impose limits on pharmaceutical and unhealthful food advertising. More than $30 billion is spent on marketing junk and fast food to consumers, including $13 billion targeted at children, and more than $30 billion is spent by the pharmaceutical industry on marketing drugs to physicians (about $30,000 annually per physician). Direct-to-consumer drug advertising also drives prescribing practices based on preferences induced by commercials rather than science.

8. Develop a system of electronic medical records that facilitates 21st-century, systems-based, functional medicine. We shouldn't simply transfer 19th- and 20th-century medical records-keeping systems to an electronic format.

9. Create a White House Office on Wellness, Health Promotion, and Integrative Health as a way to develop an ongoing vehicle for coordination of strategy and policy. It should focus specifically on coordinating and developing policies and programs for lifestyle-based chronic disease prevention and management, integrative health care practices, and health promotion.

These changes won't take place overnight, and they won't be easy. But they can happen.

However, the only way they will happen is if the average person -- that means you -- gets involved and votes for change every day with your fork, with your feet, and with your voice.

We are facing a watershed moment in the history of medicine, one where changing the very way we understand and treat disease is finally possible.

But we all must work together to effect such a tremendous change in our medical system.

As Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

We now have all the information we need to cure or dramatically improve chronic problems that are poorly addressed by conventional medicine and to discover vital, vibrant, good health at any age.

And we can finally transform our "sick care" system into a healthcare system that promises vibrant health and vitality to every man, woman, and child in this country.

The answer lies in functional medicine -- the future of medicine, available now.

Now I'd like to hear from you ...

What do you think of my 9 point plan?

Do you have any other suggestions?

How do you think functional medicine can help improve healthcare?

Please let me know your thoughts by posting a comment below.

To your good health,

Mark Hyman, MD

Mark Hyman, M.D. practicing physician and founder of The UltraWellness Center is the author of The UltraMind Solution. Dr. Hyman is now sharing the 7 ways to tap into your body's natural ability to heal itself. You can follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, watch his videos on Youtube and become a fan on Facebook.

*Follow HuffPostLiving on Twitter and become a fan of Huffington Post Living on Facebook*

Comments

[Periwinkle]

Re #1 - there can be no reimbursement for anything in any way without some sort of health coverage for all. The 9 points are certainly worthy, but useless if I don't have a gold mine in the backyard to pay for something like chemotherapy or gallbladder surgery should I need it. The one and only answer to be sure everyone can get decent medical care is single-payer..

[So Cute]

Get rid of Health Insurance Companies that run for profit.

[WalkingOnEggshells]

You left out two important things:

1) There are presently not enough doctors to go around and the ones on duty are terribly overworked. This should be remedied by dramatically increasing the enrollment of medical students now, get them in the pipeline to be taking care of patients ASAP. To do this requires Federal funding for expanding the facilities and faculty of medical schools across the country.

2) Eliminate the pressures on doctors to limit care based on expense and let them give patients the best care they know how, for it is false economy to provide substandard care for the sake of saving a little money.

[Jody Augustadt]

Here is what I think:
Mandate that each state must implement a Universal Healthcare solution for its residents.
There are so many ideas out there.... let the states be the testing ground for what works.
Mass. already has a plan in place that is specific to its needs. I don't think the government can implement the same program in Alaska, as CA.
The demographics / issues are too diverse.
The feds should provide guidelines, but thats it.
What could be better but 50 different trials. Competition yes! We could then assess cost/benefit per state.

[DrJulienArbor]

I am all in favor of Functional Medicine. HOWEVER.... this is NOT the whole story of Functional Medicine! You're plan proposes that MDs and DOs be the primary health care "team leaders" and you have very conveniently left out Naturopaths, Chiropractors, Naprapaths, Homeopaths, Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners, Ayurvedic practitioners... and any other health care professionals that have FAR MORE training and qualifications in many of the areas of Functional Medicine and that are CURRENTLY capable of functioning in this capacity. The allopathic practitioners have historically done everything possible to monopolize health care... and we all see where that has gotten us! You are NOT going to do the same thing again with Functional Medicine and squeeze out the professionals who are the MOST qualified practitioners of the Functional Medical model!

As a clinical health psychologist... I would also like to know what gives you the qualifications to be conducting what amounts to psychotherapy with patients... as evidenced by one of the scenarios described in your pdf?

Time and time again allopathic physicians have overstepped their professional boundaries and areas of specialization and it's high time that they step aside and stop pretending that they're the all-knowing gods of healing! You should also brush up on your history...

http://www.curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1440238#i

[Moonspirit48]

I wholeheartedly agree. I am disabled and pay for Medicare and the Prescription D plan as well. But that is not where I get my help from. My chiropractor and irodologist (as well as my psychologist and psychiatrist) are who really help me. Yet my insurance does not cover visits with them nor the necessary supplements, but they are what helps. I have, for the most part, given up on allopathic medicine and doctors. It is a shame that the money I pay for insurance cannot include what truly helps me in my efforts to be well.

[Siebenstein]

Think about this: The AMA made sure people got uncovered, now they are trying to make sure, they get covered just enough to cover the AMA !

Nice, huh?

[AngieMom57]

There are community meetings being organized all around the country on Saturday June 26th, if you agree with some or all of these ideas why not print out the article and go to a meeting ;-)

or just do as I did and copy and paste the link to the Health Reform dot gov web site:

http://www.healthreform.gov/

Share your stories and ideas, it takes an uprising from the masses in great number to be counted once.

[AngieMom57]

This is the most important article in the Huffington Post today!

Enough with should Senator Boxer be addressed as "ma'am" or "Senator" which got over seven hundred posts, yet this amazing article with easily implemented sustainable solutions for breathing hope into our failing health care system is not being debated or rated or sent as a link to the "share your stories and ideas" link on the home page...

http://www.healthreform.gov/

[orlik]

It is interesting to see that at that summit...."Six hundred key leaders and stakeholders in healthcare including educators, scientists, community leaders, practitioners, lawmakers, policy makers, and insurance leaders attended it." there was no one representing US, those who have to pay whether the system is old or new.
All those at the summit -exept for the practitioners- are the cause of high health care costs. One way or another WE fund scientific research, WE fund health insurances' profits, WE fund pharmaceutical research with astronomical costs of medicine, and yet no one representin US was there.
President Obama has said one thing that is probably the most valid in this argument: we have to reign in the legal costs (malpractice limits, firvolous lawsuits etc) ...He nailed it ! But grew many enemies in his party (most of them lawyers who paid a lot of money for his campaign)
Next he should have said : set limits on costs of medicine (an aspirine cannot cost $10.00) in a hospital, ....hey just an idea, I just paid $500.00 just to step into an emergency room with my son
Bottom line : live a healthier life and watever you do , don't get sick.
When I was living in England I saw bad things with universal health care, if you think this is bad wait till it kicks in . I hope we smarten up before that.

[lobear00]

Take the profits out of healthcare. The lowlife CEO's of the healthcare industry are the one's ripping off the american people. Everyone of them should be in a prison cell. The healthcare industry should be controlled by the government, and overseen by the justice department, where as no one is profitting and putting most of that money in their own pockets.

[evekendall]

Train medical doctors in NUTRITION!

[AmericanSon]

Start with Universal Single Payer health care. The rest won't matter until single Payer is in place.

[BiffThiele]

Amen. The profit based system is the root of the entire problem. But, to the author, I suggest you take this prescription to the airwaves. Make the news cycles on network and cable, but also get on Letterman, Oprah and the Daily Show. The Wall Street/NBC polls suggest the public is behind the president's initiative by a whopping 76%. You need to get the public enlisted in this fight. The powers that be are paying lip service only to the public's demand for single payer. Then they move on to their real concerns, how to please the pharma, medical and insurance industries' greed.

[HidingintheDeepSouth]

I second that Amen! All the holistic and lifestyle changes, although a good idea, don't mean CRAP without the entire populace being covered by insurance. I have had Melanoma and have untreated Lupus. I have had injuries that haven't been treated. Nutrition helps but can only go so far. Nutrition doesn't put my shoulder where it is supposed to be. Surgery was the only acceptable treatment for Melanoma and if it comes back I can't get it. (I am one of the uninsured and uninsurable.)
People will continue to get in wreaks, catch infections, fall and have other accidents, be victims of violence. None of the nine ideas address that.

Also you should all know that public, universal health coverage is the ONLY way to control future infectious epidemics. Know this, when I get swine or bird flu, I will NOT be going to a doctor or ER. I will be spreading it to you and yours though. Do you NOW care that I can't see a doctor?

[Siebenstein]

Thanks for your clear, concise breakthrough here.

Single-Payer is the only option, everything else is a bunch of distraction from the essentials in favor of anything BUT patients.

[lawyerboyd]

Dr. Hyman, I sent you an e-mail today. I'm on your e-mail list because I bought your book and signed up.

I have little doubt that in general you are heading in the right direction and trying to do some positive things. However, either you or those who are running the ship, are taking some very dangerous leaps. For example, today your company (but with your name prominently on the e-mail) sent me an endorsement of something called caveman exercising and when I linked to the endorsement product, it not only says you can and should do what it says, but totally disses "normal" cardiovascular exercising as wrongheaded and potentially very detrimental.

I have been a consumer lawyer for 25 years. I've seen these types of happenings before, where a renowned of wannabe 'renowned' doctor/author (even lawyer) get carried away with themselves and send their name all over the place. Dr. Phil endorsed a line of vitamins and supplements which he nad no idea about and which eventually got him in a bunch of trouble.

i am urging you to check it out and stay on top of your company and your people. Read this caveman crappola that you're endorsing. Words matter to some extent, but what you actually do matters alot more.

Now that you're really putting yourself out there, including PBS, you need to be careful not just for yourself, but for the large numbers of people you hope to influence.

[iwantarobot]

"But to achieve that goal will require the collective imagination, intention, focus, and action of . . . providers, consumers, industry, and policy makers."

This could be said of any problem that our society faces, and has been said before. It's a nice sentiment, but will remain so.

As always, we will be measured and, in this, found lacking.

Best of luck though!

[Mij13]

There ya go! Just what we need - more negative cynicism. Thanks soooo much!

All I can say is, if Obama doesn't get a good health care reform bill through, we may as well have voted for McSame.

[MegWe]

He's trying!!! Whqt are you doing??? Call your congressman/woman- now!

[Samalabear]

All these nice things are squat without single-payer health care to back it up. Sorry, but I'm uninsured and I know a lot of people with insurance who live in constant stress of having to use said insurance -- they know it will not be there when they really need it. This also does not include people who stay in a job just for the health insurance, even if the job is bad for their health.

[ChelseaC]

I'm with Samalabear on this one.
These "holistic" providers charge so much money and most don't take any form of insurance.
Using the principles of a holistic approach is all fine and dandy but if it is to benefit mant people besides the wealthy, it needs to be covered by
Medicare. Those doctors who practice such medicine need to begin excepting Medicare.

We need to expand Medicare to all--oe we have no solution.

When I began to get sick, mainstream doctors failed to diagnose me so I tried some of these "alternative" practioners. They took my money and never made me well as they didn't test me for the underlying cause of my sickness. These alternative docs along with my insurance company premiums have taken my money and left me sick.
The best type of doctor I found is one who is mainstream yet think outside the box and test in order to find the bottom line--and who will except health insurance.
I think your ideas are great, but are you going to accept Medicare or a public health care option if we should obtain one?