About Kaiser Permanente | CEO Corner

September 12, 2007

Health Care Reform Now! A Prescription for Change Available in Bookstores Now

Health Care Reform Now!: a Prescription for Change, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan/Hospitals’ Chairman and CEO George Halvorson’s latest book about health care reform, is now available in bookstores.

Halvorson's book represents the latest expression of Kaiser Permanente's long history of health care leadership and espousing health care reform.

Co-founders Henry J. Kaiser and Sidney R. Garfield, MD, championed a prepaid, integrated health care model starting in the 1930s that was, and still is, a unique innovation to health care delivery. Kaiser Permanente is deeply committed to affordable, quality health care for its 8.7 million members and the communities it serves, and remains at the forefront of local, state, and national debates about how to improve health care in America.

In his new book, Halvorson builds upon Kaiser Permanente's 65-year history as a staunch advocate of universal health care by outlining why the time for reform is now.

The book — the third in a series Halvorson has written about health care reform — calls for universal coverage as well as innovation and improvement in care delivery.

Recent developments in American health care offer, for the first time ever, a real opportunity to systematically improve patient care, reduce the costs of care, and make health coverage universal, Halvorson wrote.

"Miracles cost money, and we all want our miracles to happen. We also want them to be equitably distributed. To make that possible, we need a care infrastructure focused on results, empowered by science, and committed to systematic process improvement. We can create our own miracle. The time to start is now."

-George C. Halvorson, Health Care Reform Now!

Royalties from the book will go to community clinics in Oakland, California. Read more about the book through its website.