Comments on: HEALTH REFORM: Making The Most Of The Bush Plan http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/01/25/health-reform-making-the-most-of-the-bush-plan/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=health-reform-making-the-most-of-the-bush-plan The Policy Journal of the Health Sphere Thu, 24 May 2012 07:58:29 +0000 hourly 1 By: Patrick Knowd http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/01/25/health-reform-making-the-most-of-the-bush-plan/comment-page-1/#comment-8260 Patrick Knowd Sun, 09 Sep 2007 06:42:28 +0000 http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/01/25/health-reform-making-the-most-of-the-bush-plan/#comment-8260 "some tenants such as getting timely quality healthcare for all without making their ability to live worse in the process," That is the issue isn't it. It just seems we cannot agree on where the funding will come from to pay for this arrangement. http://www.healthinsuranceshopper.com “some tenants such as getting timely quality healthcare for all without making their ability to live worse in the process,”
That is the issue isn’t it. It just seems we cannot agree on where the funding will come from to pay for this arrangement. http://www.healthinsuranceshopper.com

]]> By: Timothy Westmoreland http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/01/25/health-reform-making-the-most-of-the-bush-plan/comment-page-1/#comment-691 Timothy Westmoreland Fri, 26 Jan 2007 19:23:46 +0000 http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/01/25/health-reform-making-the-most-of-the-bush-plan/#comment-691 Correction to my comment: I meant "bare," but maybe "bear" is a revealing Freudian slip. Correction to my comment: I meant “bare,” but maybe “bear” is a revealing Freudian slip.

]]> By: Timothy Westmoreland http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/01/25/health-reform-making-the-most-of-the-bush-plan/comment-page-1/#comment-687 Timothy Westmoreland Thu, 25 Jan 2007 23:16:15 +0000 http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/01/25/health-reform-making-the-most-of-the-bush-plan/#comment-687 It's pretty uncanny how much the Administration's proposal resembles a scaled-back version of Stuart Butler's proposal in 2002. See: http://www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/test021302.cfm Or maybe it's not so uncanny. Too bad they stripped it so bear. It’s pretty uncanny how much the Administration’s proposal resembles a scaled-back version of Stuart Butler’s proposal in 2002. See:

http://www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/test021302.cfm

Or maybe it’s not so uncanny. Too bad they stripped it so bear.

]]> By: annecarroll http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/01/25/health-reform-making-the-most-of-the-bush-plan/comment-page-1/#comment-683 annecarroll Thu, 25 Jan 2007 18:38:58 +0000 http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/01/25/health-reform-making-the-most-of-the-bush-plan/#comment-683 It's a mystery how and why we have become so embroiled with the financial services industry, and insurance as a financial instrument, in designing and setting national and state health care policy in the first place. The short-term and long-term goals and practices of the financial services industry and the medical/health care sector are completely unalike, and sometimes even contradictory (as we have seen with low patient satisfaction rates). The financial services industry should not be driving the definition of the problem, the definition of the solution, or the design of health care and medical public policy. The real issue is access to health CARE, not access to health care insurance. We should not allow the financial services industry subvert the issue or its definition, and we should not be distracted into taking our eyes off the real prize. It’s a mystery how and why we have become so embroiled with the financial services industry, and insurance as a financial instrument, in designing and setting national and state health care policy in the first place. The short-term and long-term goals and practices of the financial services industry and the medical/health care sector are completely unalike, and sometimes even contradictory (as we have seen with low patient satisfaction rates). The financial services industry should not be driving the definition of the problem, the definition of the solution, or the design of health care and medical public policy.

The real issue is access to health CARE, not access to health care insurance. We should not allow the financial services industry subvert the issue or its definition, and we should not be distracted into taking our eyes off the real prize.

]]> By: Neil Gardner http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/01/25/health-reform-making-the-most-of-the-bush-plan/comment-page-1/#comment-680 Neil Gardner Thu, 25 Jan 2007 17:11:38 +0000 http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2007/01/25/health-reform-making-the-most-of-the-bush-plan/#comment-680 <i>BWF also suggest ways of dealing with the flaws in the individual market: “Eligibility for the voucher or credit in the individual nongroup market could be made conditional on insurers offering community-rated premiums (possibly adjusted by age) or some other mechanism that guarantees that people who are continually insured can purchase insurance at the same low rate as everyone else, even if they develop chronic health conditions. Alternatively, insurance premiums on qualifying nongroup insurance could be subject to a tax, the proceeds of which would be transferred to a state fund designed to make affordable insurance available to those with low incomes and those with chronic health conditions.”</i> If one has no healthcare system social mission, I guess we can just let caveat emptor markets randomly screw as many folks as possible so some companies can make profits. However, if a consensus social mission for the healthcare system was set upfront with maybe some tenants such as getting timely quality healthcare for all without making their ability to live worse in the process, then will someone tell me why guaranteed acceptance and community ratings have not been a mandate of the system since forever????? Furthermore, if the idea of weaning the country off employer providered health coverage/insurance is part of the coming new policy aims, then putting guaranteed acceptance for all coupled with coummunity ratings would be a great test experiment for whether private insurance could compete with or evolve into single payer for all. Again, a health care system mission must be set out there first, IMO before any reasonable meaningful policy changes can be made! Do we have such a mission that I missed somehow?? BWF also suggest ways of dealing with the flaws in the individual market: “Eligibility for the voucher or credit in the individual nongroup market could be made conditional on insurers offering community-rated premiums (possibly adjusted by age) or some other mechanism that guarantees that people who are continually insured can purchase insurance at the same low rate as everyone else, even if they develop chronic health conditions. Alternatively, insurance premiums on qualifying nongroup insurance could be subject to a tax, the proceeds of which would be transferred to a state fund designed to make affordable insurance available to those with low incomes and those with chronic health conditions.”

If one has no healthcare system social mission, I guess we can just let caveat emptor markets randomly screw as many folks as possible so some companies can make profits. However, if a consensus social mission for the healthcare system was set upfront with maybe some tenants such as getting timely quality healthcare for all without making their ability to live worse in the process, then will someone tell me why guaranteed acceptance and community ratings have not been a mandate of the system since forever????? Furthermore, if the idea of weaning the country off employer providered health coverage/insurance is part of the coming new policy aims, then putting guaranteed acceptance for all coupled with coummunity ratings would be a great test experiment for whether private insurance could compete with or evolve into single payer for all. Again, a health care system mission must be set out there first, IMO before any reasonable meaningful policy changes can be made!

Do we have such a mission that I missed somehow??

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