With the passage of Obamacare, increased attention was directed to transforming health-care systems toward high quality/low cost coordinated programs. While affordable health care is undeniably the goal, Hawaii’s focus needs to change from cost and quality to access.

Low cost/high quality care has been Hawaii’s strong point for decades. The Commonwealth Fund, a leading heath care think tank, reported in 2018 that Hawaii leads the nation in lowest cost of health care and highest quality of care provided. In fact, Hawaii has been in the top 10 states in lowest health care cost for 25 years.

However, WalletHub reports that Hawaii ranks 36th in access to health care overall, and 51st, dead last, in access to Medicare services. Why the disparity?

The policy makers of the state need to change their focus to the critical need of all Hawaii citizens, namely access to care.

Christopher D. Flanders, D.O.

Executive director, Hawaii Medical Association

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