WASHINGTON, D.C. — It’s finally here — the Senate Finance Committee’s plan (pdf) to reform the U.S. health care system — all 223 pages of it.
All summer, Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the committee and a Montana Democrat, and his “Gang of Six” committee negotiators — three Democrats; three Republicans — worked on what was built up as the nation’s best attempt at bipartisan health reform.
Sen. Baucus released the text of his American’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 this morning, summarizing it in an 18-page press release (pdf). It joins already proposed legislation by another Senate committee and three House committees. But the finance committee’s attempt at bipartisanship failed.
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On the eve of the Baucus announcement, Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican and ranking minority leader on the committee, said he didn’t support the bill because it is partisan. “I’m disappointed because it looks like we’re being pushed aside by the Democratic leadership so the Senate can move forward on a bill that, up to this point, does not meet the shared goals for affordable, accessible health coverage that we set forth when this process began,” Sen. Grassley said in a Tuesday statement (pdf).
Some Democrats didn’t like the plan, either. During a Tuesday conference call with reporters, Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia said he wouldn’t support the Senate Finance Committee plan unless it had a “public option” — a government-supported health insurance option — according to the Charleston Gazette.
Here are some highlights of the legislation:
The cost? Â $856 billion over 10 years.
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
Is there a public option? No. Low- and middle-income families would get tax credits to help them buy insurance in the private market. Small businesses also would get tax credits if they offered health coverage to employees.
What about insurance exchanges? Yes, individuals would be able to buy health insurance through online exchanges that would standardize premium and coverage information.
Private insurance co-operatives? Yes, individuals would gain access to non-profit, consumer-owned plans.
Health insurance reforms? Yes, reform efforts would aim at ending private insurer discrimination against people who already are sick, and eliminating yearly and lifetime limits on the amount of coverage plans provide.
Medicare reforms? Yes, financial incentives would shift to encourage wellness care and administrative efficiency.
Require tax increases? No, the reform would be paid for by shift in focus to quality, efficiency and prevention, and through changes in federal health program (Medicare and Medicaid) payments.
