How Do We Achieve Health for Life?
Health for Life's unchanging goal is working to make America a nation of healthy people, leading balanced lives and effectively managing their health wherever possible. And when they need health care, they will enter a genuine system that is efficient, affordable and accessible to all, of high quality, with coverage for everyone, and provides quality of care that exceeds expectations.
The idea for Health for Life began in 2005 as the leaders of the American Hospital Association (AHA) became concerned over the lack of progress the nation had made on health reform since the early 1990s. As trusted providers of care and community leaders, the nation's hospitals needed to take a greater leadership role in advocating for change. Health for Life was developed over the last several years by listening to community and faith leaders, elected officials and policymakers at every level, consumer and health advocacy groups, educators, the business community and others - in addition to AHA's 5,000 member hospitals in rural, suburban and urban communities.
It is often said that the U.S. has the best health care in the world and there is much of which we can be proud. But as we look out to the future in the first decade of the 21st century, there are daunting challenges. The U.S. population is aging, chronic disease is on the rise, consumers are increasingly dissatisfied with the health care system, costs are high and millions of people are without health care coverage.
There is much that can and should be done to better health and health care in America today and we applaud communities across the country that already have taken the initiative in making improvements and developing better and smarter practices. Over the coming months and years, there are significant steps to be taken by hospitals, physicians, insurers, consumers, employers and government to make care more safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient-focused. Health for Life hopes to be the catalyst for building a strong consensus among unlikely allies to move toward the worthy goal of a healthier America.