However, it is all too simple to pose these facts without acknowledging that - for all its challenges - the U.S. health-care system has numerous strengths.
As we address reform, we must preserve what is good about the current system.
For example, the strong relationship between physician and patient must be protected. Physicians have skills that are broader than a pill or vaccine, and they are a trusted source of healing and health information.
More than one-third of the patients who contacted my company about our prescription savings programs in the past year noted that they had heard about the programs from their health-care professionals.
It is the physician, in consultation with the patient, who should decide what treatment is best for each individual.
Current efforts to prevent chronic diseases must be enhanced. Today, 75 cents out of every dollar spent on health care is spent on chronic diseases. But while chronic diseases are among the most common and costly health problems, they are also among the most preventable. Furthermore, chronic diseases disproportionately affect low-income Americans.
Companies such as AstraZeneca P.L.C. need to ask: "Are our medicines making their way to the individuals who need them most, and are least likely to be able to afford them?"
Because when treatments don't reach a population - no matter how effective they may be - we haven't made a mark.
We must learn from successful public-private sector programs such as the Medicare prescription drug benefit to ensure that everyone has affordable access to health insurance coverage, including prescription drug coverage.
In Delaware, where our U.S. business is headquarted, we have a partnership with the state, Christiana Care Health System, the local United Way, and other organizations to connect uninsured families with free or low-cost health care.
