The Full Spectrum Blog

That's the message that popped up on screen this morning as I searched for the term "value" in Steven Pearlstein's column on health reform as well as in the related commentary on "The Washington Post" Web site.

The reason no coherent health system exists, and the reason we spend so much on health is because Americans have no legitimate sense of health value.

We don't know what health care truly costs us as individuals, and thus, we cannot begin to pretend that we value health in the strictest definition of "value."

Not only do we need to talk about it - we need to study health value. As Congress and the Administration undertake health reform, what if they understood how Americans value health care when they consider their own money being spent? For the first time, policymakers could benefit from a true sense of value. "Budget scolders," as Pearlstein describes them, could begin to make and enforce tough choices - the choices that Americans have already made in their minds in consideration of finite resources.

Last week, Spectrum released findings of the first, nationally representative study of its kind on health value, which will hopefully add to discussions in health reform: Visit www.healthvaluestudy.com.

Much of the information out there evaluates cost-effectiveness, e.g.  are we getting our money's worth with any given procedure, technology, medication or program? But that's overlooking a crucial insight: How do we really value health?

John Seng, Founder and President