A panel of leaders in the medical and insurance fields focused on personal responsibility for health care at a Des Moines Business Record Power Breakfast this morning.

“We’re producing disease at such a rate that the health-care system cannot sustain itself,” said Steve Flood, senior vice president at Holmes Murphy & Associates, and he contended that much of that disease is self-inflicted.

Leonard Grover, a principal at Mercer Health and Benefits, took a different tack, emphasizing the need for consumers to get more informed about and involved with the cost and quality of health care. “Employers in the Midwest are leading the nation in offering consumer-driven health plans,” he said. However, “they’re not leading in providing information to employees about the quality of health-care providers.”

Also participating on the panel at the Des Moines Club were Eric Crowell, president and CEO of Iowa Health – Des Moines; Tom Evans, president and CEO of the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative; and Joe LeValley, a senior vice president at Mercy Medical Center. Dean Borg, a senior producer and public affairs reporter for Iowa Public Radio, served as the moderator. About 200 people attended the event.