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Three cornerstones of reform

Posted by: Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA on Apr 24, 2009

Our goal is health care for all Americans. Currently, health care is unaffordable for too many middle-income working families and the poor.

To achieve our goal, we need several key proposals that are specifically designed to make coverage and care affordable:

1. For the poor, we need to expand the Medicaid safety net so it truly covers low- income people and families. We propose to establish a Medicare eligibility floor at 133% of the Federal Poverty Level - an expansion to adults who earn income below $14,000 per year, and families of four who earn less than $29,300. Today, in 43 states, adults who don't have dependent children are ineligible for safety net protection-even if they are penniless. For parents, the median income eligibility standard is a meager 67%

2. For people above the Medicaid eligibility levels, but who can't afford premiums, we need substantial sliding-scale subsidies so premiums can be affordable. This system, currently working in Massachusetts, has enabled the state to have the lowest portion of its population uninsured of any state.

3. We also need further subsidies so that a cap is established on out-of-pocket health care costs, such as deductibles and copayments. This would ensure that health care is truly affordable and would avoid medical-related bankruptcies.

We have entered a partnership with PhRMA to campaign for these essential elements. In the weeks and months ahead, we will launch a multi-million dollar advertising campaign, in addition to grassroots and lobbying efforts.

As Politico reported,

The partnership could significantly reshape the debate over health care reform.... The proposal could bolster the chances of expanding the Medicaid program, an option that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and the committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, are reportedly discussing.

If we win these three cornerstones, which are needed to make health care affordable, we will go a long way toward the goal of ensuring access to high-quality and affordable health care - and coverage - for all.