Health is Where You Live, Learn, Work and Play

Looking Beyond Health Care to Improve

the Health of All Americans

Alliance for Health ReformMay 15, 2009

We spend more on health care than any

other country

• $2,000,000,000,000 a year

• 17% of national economy...and growing

• $1 Trillion increase in health care spending over the last decade

But, we are not the healthiest people

• For the first time, we are raising a generation of children who may live sicker and shorter lives than their parents

• 1 in 3 Americans are obese

• Nearly 17 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes

• Nearly 2,400 Americans die from heart disease every day

• 1 in 2 Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime

• Nearly 1 in 10 children have asthma

America’s Health Crisis

Why are some Americans so much healthier than others?

Why isn’t America one of the healthiest nations in the world?

Commission Charge

Why a Commission?

Raise visibility for the issue

Expand the dialogue on health •To non-medical factors•To social factors

Develop fresh ideas & solutions

Make recommendations

Increase understanding

Motivate action

Move to solutions

Lack of awareness about the problems and lack of policy action

Little distinction between health and health care

Strong feeling that individuals are responsible for their own health

Need a bridge between ideological and political differences; fresh approach may appeal to both parties

Why Now?

Timing is Right: Changes in Washington and National Discussion on Health Reform Presents a Window of Opportunity to Broaden the Conversation

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build A Healthier America

Commission Goals and Objectives

• Raise awareness of shortfalls in Americans’ health and highlight promising interventions beyond medical care to improve health and longevity

• Recommend policy interventions – public and private – to improve Americans’ health both in the near and longer term

• Inspire confidence and public will to take meaningful steps

towards improved health for all Americans

A Solid Infrastructure for Research, Action and Outreach

Central OfficesGWU Department of Health Policy

Research ArmUCSF Center on Social Disparities in Health

Communications Partners

•Burness Communications• Health360Strategies

Board and Staff

Commission Approach

Raise awareness and identify areas for action by:– Target decision-makers in public and private

sector– Reach beyond health care to non-traditional allies

and advocates– Make academic research on social inequalities

more accessible to public and private sector policy makers

– Conduct work in a resolutely nonpartisan fashion– Design a plan that is sustainable, flexible and

relevant