November 16, 2009
Rosenthal Lecture
Speaker: Hon. David M. Walker, President and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation
and Former Comptroller General of the United States (1998-2008)
Thank you very much for that kind introduction. I appreciate the opportunity to deliver the Rosenthal lecture at this time and I want to thank the IOM and its President Dr. Harvey Fineberg for selecting me to be this year’s speaker.
As we meet here today we all have a shared sense of urgency: our health care system is in serious trouble, and Washington is engaged in a great debate on health care reform. Many people have diagnosed the system’s illnesses, and more than a few have predicted worse problems in the future if we don’t change course. But let me make something clear at the outset: I believe strongly that we can and must find a cure to what ails our health care system.