Focus on Private Efforts for Acute Illnesses Urged

Health and Human Services Secretary Otis R. Bowen urged a special task force Wednesday to focus on private-sector solutions to the problem of paying for catastrophic illnesses, which often leave elderly Americans destitute.

“Acute or long-term catastrophic illness can strike at any time,” Bowen said at the first meeting of the 13-member panel. “In addition to coping with its physical impact, the patient’s life savings are also threatened--for as you know, some hospital stays cost up to $100,000.”

Bowen formed the panel last month after President Reagan, in his State of the Union message, directed the secretary to recommend how the private sector and government could work together to establish affordable insurance for catastrophic illness.

Last year, Bowen suggested boosting Medicare benefits for catastrophic illness. He has come under fire from groups that predict the task force will recommend huge federal outlays.

Bowen’s opening comments to the Advisory Panel on Catastrophic Illness, which heard testimony from groups ranging from the National Alliance of Senior Citizens to the American Nurses Assn., took aim at this concern.

“Put your faith in answers that look to the initiative of individuals and the creative energies of the private sector,” Bowen said. “Look to government only as a final resort.”

The committee--made up of representatives from Congress, insurance companies, consumer groups, employers and financial institutions--will conduct at least five hearings around the country. A preliminary report is expected in September.