Health Care Reform Proposal

On Wednesday, November 12, Senator Max Baucus, (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, unveiled a white paper entitled Call to Action Health Reform 2009 proposing reforms to the national health care system. While public policy makers are concerned about economic problems across the country, the paper notes that national economists concur that health care reform is necessary to sustain our economy, to compete internationally and to address the long-term fiscal challenges we face.

Emphasis is placed on covering all Americans; promoting wellness and prevention; strengthening the role of primary care and chronic disease management; creating payment incentives to improve quality of care; encouraging collaborations among providers to deliver patient centered care; shifting the long-term care focus from institutional care to home and community based care; and exploring tax reforms.

To promote insurance coverage a Health Insurance Exchange would be developed to connect individuals and employers to insurance providers. The plan would prohibit insurers from denying coverage of preexisting conditions, and would offer government subsidies to low-income families to afford coverage. Until the Health Insurance Exchange is operational, temporary options will be available through Medicare and Medicaid. The State Children's Health Insurance Program will continue as an option for covering children.

The paper explains that eliminating waste and fraud, focusing on prevention, and using sophisticated data to identify the most cost-effective therapies will save money in the future. However, the ideas suggested in the document are not cost neutral in the short term. An added benefit to the plan is a healthier nation overall.

Senate Finance Committee staff briefed advocates about the plan, encouraging stakeholders to meet with staff members to help the committtee as it takes the proposal from ideas to reality.

The document is available on the web at http://finance.senate.gov/