New report: private/public insurance mix is most practical way to achieve universa...( October 18 2007 New York NYHealth in...),Health

October 18, 2007, New York, NYHealth insurance reform plans that build on a mix of private and public health insurance, where costs are shared among government, employers, and enrollees would have great potential to move the system to high performance and would be the most practical to implement according to a new report released today by The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System. Commissioners are a diverse group of leading health policy experts from government, private industry, health care delivery organizations, academia, and professional associations.

Affordable, comprehensive health insurance coverage for all Americans is essential to achieving a high performance health system, say the report authors, because coverage helps to ensure access to essential preventive services; improve overall health; cut down on inefficiencies like duplicate medical tests; reduce administrative costs; and eliminate costly uncompensated care for uninsured and underinsured families.

However, the way coverage reform plans are designed will be critical to their success and ability to offer all participants access to high-quality, efficient, and equitable health care, according to the analysis, A Roadmap to Health Insurance for All: Principles for Reform, prepared for the Commission by Sara Collins, Assistant Vice President at The Commonwealth Fund and colleagues. The report is the first of three major policy reports the Commission will issue this Fall.

If we do health reform right, we can get all Americans covered, improve quality and efficiency, and control skyrocketing health care costs, said Collins.

The report describes how all of the health insurance reform plans now being proposed by presidential candidates and lawmakers fall into one of three general typestax incentives and individual insurance markets; mixed private-public group insurance with shared responsibility for financing; and public insurance. The
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