President Obama recognizes Geisinger as national model of healthcare reform

Sept. 10, 2009, DANVILLE - President Barack Obama praised Geisinger Health System as a role model for U.S. health reformers during a speech before a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night. He cited Geisinger for providing "high quality care at costs below average.”
 
"Now, because Medicare is such a big part of the health care system, making the program more efficient can help usher in changes in the way we deliver health care that can reduce costs for everybody,” said the President. “We have long known that some places, like the Intermountain Healthcare in Utah or the Geisinger Health System in rural Pennsylvania, offer high-quality care at costs below average. The commission can help encourage the adoption of these common sense best practices by doctors and medical professionals throughout the system — everything from reducing hospital infection rates to encouraging better coordination between teams of doctors.”
 
President Obama's praise of Geisinger's quality and value last evening is one of several times he has cited Geisinger in the past several months. In July he said, "We have to ask why places like the Geisinger Health System in rural Pennsylvania.... can offer high-quality care at costs well below average, but other places in America can't. We need to identify the best practices across the country, learn from the success, and replicate that success elsewhere," he said.
 
According to Kaiser Family Foundation figures for 2007, per capita healthcare spending in Pennsylvania was $5,933, just a little more than Maryland's $5,590 and much less than New York's $6,535. Those figures are leading more and more national leaders to look at Geisinger.
 
National media cites Geisinger's success
The president's comments about Geisinger Health System have been complemented by a recent Associated Press story that ran in over 300 newspapers as well as a July story aired by CNN.

Audio
Click to hear Glenn Steele, MD, PhD, Geisinger President & CEO on healthcare reform:

• Quality Not Quantity
• Coordinating Care
• The Need for Healthcare Reform
• Improving Care with Electronic Health Records
• Provider Collaboration Improves  Care, Lowers Cost

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