Health Care: Justified Concern

More than 100 Californians, gathered under the sponsorship of the American Assembly, have called on Gov. George Deukmejian and President Reagan to become more involved in the problems of health care. Their report supports the recommendation.

Like the national American Assembly on health care in November, 1986, this regional assembly affirmed the right of each person to basic health care, asserting that this is a responsibility of the federal government, which should either finance the care or mandate the financing. That is important. Much of the recent erosion in financing appropriate care, and the fact that more than 30 million Americans are without any health insurance, is the result of a failure in Washington to strengthen federal programs and to require employers to protect employees with basic health insurance.

The need for greater involvement by both governor and President is evident. The American Assembly called on Deukmejian to convene “an appropriate panel at the earliest moment.” A state commission on health problems could play a useful role in addressing the immediate crisis in such areas as dwindling Medi-Cal support that has crippled the crucially important prenatal program. The assembly called for the establishment of regular White House conferences on health care modeled after those that already address the problems of children, drug abuse and aging. The record of those conferences is mixed, their usefulness heavily dependent on the willingness of Presidents and Congresses to implement recommendations. But they at least serve as an effective way to focus national attention on problems.

The regional assembly coincided with the release of a new SRI/Gallup poll on California health care that showed satisfaction with the system by a large majority, but also reflected concern about weaknesses. About 70% of respondents affirmed medical care as a right rather than a privilege. A surprising 74% favored development of some form of national health insurance by the federal government. And 88% supported the necessity of maintaining trauma centers; some have had to close in Los Angeles County because of funding problems.

Those attending the regional assembly shared many of the concerns of the public at large, as reflected in the poll results. For all, the spiraling costs of health care and the need for cost containment were major concerns.

Once again the institution of the American Assembly has proved to be an effective tool in involving citizens in difficult public-policy questions. The assembly was established by Dwight D. Eisenhower at Columbia University in 1950 as a nonpartisan sponsor of such meetings. There have been 74 national assemblies and hundreds of regional assemblies since then. The most recent regional assembly for Californians on health care was in Newport Beach. Its value will now be measured not only by its effect on the participants but also by the willingness of the governor and the President to implement its constructive proposals.