The Value Of Breaking Away From The Beltway

Whenever I speak to members of Congress or high-ranking officials from federal departments and agencies, I always encourage them to escape from the confines of Washington, DC and gather their own eyewitness accounts of what’s happening in American healthcare.  While policy may be written in the nation’s capital, healthcare innovation is taking place every day in hospitals and clinics as well as facilities where lifesaving medicines and medical devices are being created.  It’s important for policymakers to be aware of the new breakthroughs happening in healthcare as they are drafting new laws and regulations.

That’s why I applaud Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for taking the time from her busy schedule to travel to Rochester, Minnesota and visit the Mayo Clinic this week.  As you see from the video on this post, Secretary Sebelius received a comprehensive tour of the Clinic from Mayo CEO John Noseworthy and many of the facility’s outstanding physicians. 

Mayo is one of the healthcare providers in the U.S. that is constantly staking out new ground on our nation’s most important healthcare priority, how to strengthen the quality of healthcare while increasing cost-efficiency as well.  Kudos to Secretary Sebelius for seeking out real world demonstrations on how patients are benefiting from American medical innovation.