Let’s Make Our Nation’s Health Care System Work for Everyone

Our nation’s health care system is the most expensive of any country, and at the same time it continues to lag behind peer countries in quality of care, access, patient outcomes, population health status, and administrative efficiency. For far too long, high and rising health care costs have crippled the ability of working people to earn a living wage. Nearly half of all Americans have reported having to forgo medical care due to the cost, and a third have indicated that the cost of medical care interferes with their ability to secure basic needs like food and housing. And for all of that money we’re spending, the U.S. has some of the worst health outcomes, lowest levels of access to care and greatest inequities compared with other industrialized countries. It is time to stand up for high-value health care that ensures the best health possible for America’s families without threatening their economic independence and vitality.

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Consumers First is an alliance that brings together powerful interests from consumers, employers, labor unions, primary care clinicians, and others working to change the fundamental economic incentives and design of the health care system. Our goal is to realign the incentives and design of health care so that the system truly delivers the health and high-quality care that all families across our nation deserve.

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By joining Consumers First, you agree with the following principles:

• The best health and health care should be accessible and affordable for every person across the country.

• To achieve this goal, the economic incentives that underlie our health care system must be overhauled to deliver affordable, equitable, high-quality health care in competitive health care markets. The system should not reward health industry players who undermine market dynamics, engage in discriminatory or anti-competitive practices, or provide low-value health care.

• We stand in solidarity with the millions of people who work in health care delivery, who work hard to provide high-quality care despite the many shortcomings associated with the way our country organizes, addressing the broader system failures that drive high cost, low-quality care, and health disparities so that both clinicians and consumers can thrive.

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To read our Call to Action click here and be sure to read our previous administrative and legislative policy agendas.