Fix the healthcare system without making it worse

Abstract

President Clinton's prescription for healthcare reform is a social experiment on an unprecedented scale, according to Dr Kissick. As an alternative, he recommends a more measured approach, with incremental steps toward ensuring universal access to healthcare for all Americans. In this commentary, he points out the potential side effects of current reform proposals and explores fundamental issues for Congress to address.

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William L. Kissick

William L. Kissick, MD, DrPH Dr Kissick is the George Seckel Pepper Professor of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; professor of health care systems, The Wharton School; and chairman of the governing board and senior fellow, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. He served in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations from 1962 to 1969 in the Public Health Service; Office of the Secretary, US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (where he assisted in the drafting of Medicare); and the White House.