Health Insurance: What Should Everyone Be Covered For?

As our nation works to address our struggling health care system, no issue is more important or controversial than what should be included in a minimum, basic, or required benefit package. Following the release of her paper, “Balancing Act: Creating a Sustainable Health Care Benefits Package,” Marjorie Ginsburg joined Celia Wcislo of the Massachusetts Connector Board and SEIU, Cori Uccello of the American Academy of Actuaries, and the New America Foundation for a discussion about how and why the public can and must be involved in benefits design.

Ms. Ginsburg highlighted her work with the CHAT (Choosing Healthplans All Together) Program. CHAT is a computerized exercise through which ordinary people are asked to make important decisions about how best to allocate a community’s health care dollars. Results have shown that participants favor restricted provided networks over increased cost-sharing as a means of cost-containment, and that groups are more likely to embrace benefits that are widely utilized by the general public. CHAT provides policymakers with some insight into the priorities of health care consumers.

Ms. Wcislo described her experience working in a “high-stakes CHAT game” as a member of the Massachusetts Connector Board and suggested that all stakeholders should be involved in discussions about insurance design. Finally, Ms. Uccello emphasized that our nation must not only address benefits design, but also the rising cost of health care and the role of health insurance in everyday life.

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Participants

• Marjorie Ginsburg
  Executive Director
  Sacramento Healthcare Decisions
• Len Nichols
  Health Policy Director
  New America Foundation
• Cori Uccello
  Senior Health Fellow
  American Academy of Actuaries
• Celia Wcislo
  Appointee, Massachusetts Connector Board
  Assistant Division Director, SEIU