Press Releases: National
December 14, 2006
Kaiser CEO Shares Lessons in Health Care From Uganda
New Book Details Micro Health Co-ops Established in African Villages
OAKLAND, Calif. – In Uganda, where per capita income is $270 per year, infant mortality rates are among the highest in the world, and the population faces the daily threat of AIDS, dysentery, malaria and parasitic infections, a group of intrepid American health care experts, including George C. Halvorson, set out to create micro health co-ops in villages. The experience and lessons learned from this effort are described by Halvorson in Health Care Co-ops in Uganda: Effectively Launching Micro Health Groups in African Villages, published today by The Permanente Press. The book is part narrative of the experience, and part textbook on how to create a micro health care co-op.
A group of Minnesota health care professionals were challenged to create health cooperatives in Uganda by Land O’Lakes, a Minnesota dairy co-op that had successfully established Ugandan dairy co-ops, and recognized their tremendous need for health care.
Starting co-op health plans proved to be a daunting challenge in a country where the total annual health care spending averages $12 per person. With no government health plan and only one doctor for every 18,450 patients, the problems were immense. Nonetheless, the health care team that went to Uganda was convinced that affordable health care with predictable costs, and local governance and control could be achieved. There were practical issues: actuarial, administrative, training, marketing, cash flow, care delivery, communications and continuity of care. Into this environment the American health care providers brought concepts of prevention, insurance, risk sharing, pre-payment, cooperative infrastructure, and buying groups. Could it work? The answer was a resounding yes from Ugandans with a desire to find health care for their families and by the caregivers who desperately wanted to provide affordable care.
Asaph Tumwesigye, a Ugandan co-op member, can attest to the profound needs that are now met by his village co-op. Like many Americans, he wants affordable medical care in order to keep his family healthy. Tumwesigye enrolled in a health cooperative in 1999 and has since learned the value of prepayment, enjoying the security of knowing that when family members fall ill unexpectedly, the cost of the health care will not force him to sell his land and his goats. In addition, he is has learned how to prevent malaria, the basics of water purification, how to run and maintain the health co-op, and even how to market the concept to his village neighbors.
The author, George C. Halvorson, is a seasoned thinker on managed care, and international health care issues. He is uniquely qualified to discuss health care cooperatives because he has seen how successful the model has been in Minnesota as the CEO of HealthPartners. It was his experience in traveling to Uganda and his participation in the creation of health care co-ops that inspired him to write this book. Today Halvorson is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Inc. He is the author of numerous articles and books on health care, including Epidemic of Care, published in 2003, and Strong Medicine.
“Even as our own country faces its own challenges in providing care for all Americans, there are lessons to be learned from villages in Uganda,” Halvorson explains. “The lives of villagers have been transformed by the new availability of medical care in the face of an immense burden of disease that threatens them at every turn. I continue to be inspired and humbled by their lives. I also believe that much of what we learned in Uganda can be applied to the need right here in our own country.”
There currently are thirty self-governing health care cooperatives in Uganda. The effort continues to spread and is being studied by the Ugandan government and international aid groups. According to Joy Batusa of the Uganda Health Cooperative (UHC), “In August 2006, Uganda Health Cooperative received official registration status with the government of Uganda. UHC is the first health cooperative ever to be registered in Uganda. This will help the community understand that UHC is their cooperative and it will remain so long after HealthPartners has helped them build it.”
According to Alexander S. Preker, lead economist at The World Bank, “The book provides a fascinating voyage through the challenges faced by the developing world and a ray of hope for millions of people.” The World Bank will host the kick-off event for the book, a reception and a panel discussion at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Monday, December 18th.
“George Halvorson and his band of sensible, committed, smart and technically well grounded Minnesotan health care co-op missionaries, have created a model of self-help development that we can all learn from,” says Harvey Sigelbaum, former chairman, National Cooperative Business Association.
The book can be ordered online at https://xnet.kp.org/tpj/ugandabook.html. Excerpts from the book are featured in the current issue of The Permanente Journal, http://www.thepermanentejournal.org/. In 2007 the book will be made available free on the internet to make it accessible to people in developing nations.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.6 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.
