Dr. William Mayo declared that, “The best interest of the patient is the only interest of consideration.” That patient-centered belief set the standard for a century of discovery and treatment that saved, extended, and improved millions of lives. In America, we are grateful to have access to that legacy of excellence through the best researchers, doctors, and clinicians in the world. But that great care is not guaranteed to be there for everyone or forever. In fact, it is at great risk.

Strengthening the provider-patient relationship means allowing more freedom to practice medicine in more ways and in more places. It means giving patients more freedom to access the people, medicines, and therapies they need. It involves removing regulatory barriers that do more harm than good. More often, it is about empowering good-hearted doctors, nurses, and caregivers to fight for their right to treat patients.

Free market choices in health care are crowded out each year as the number of people on government-run healthcare begins to outnumber those in the private sector. Those who pay the most for their care often have the least access to quality care. This trend needs to be reversed to get people the care they need, increase fairness, and bend the cost curve.