Health Policy: The Latest From New America

Employer Health Costs In a Global Economy

Health Policy — Tue, 06 May 2008 06:29:00 -0400

Increasing Employer Health Costs, Lowering U.S. Competitiveness

Although most Americans get health insurance through their employers, business leaders are increasingly united in their belief that rising health care costs threaten America’s competitiveness in the global economy. Business support for comprehensive health reform has been growing as a result.

However, economists generally believe that it is workers -- rather than employers -- who pay for health care through lower wages. Although this proposition may hold true in the long run, employers face a variety of constraints that may make it difficult for them to fully shift health costs in the short run.… more

Taking Back Our Fiscal Future

Fiscal Policy — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:57:00 -0400

The authors of this paper are longtime federal budget and policy experts who have been drawn together by a deep concern about the nation’s long-term fiscal outlook. Our group covers the ideological spectrum. We are affiliated with a diverse set of organizations. We have been meeting informally for over a year, under the auspices of The Brookings Institution and The Heritage Foundation, to define the dimensions and consequences of the looming federal budget problem, examine alternative solutions, and reach agreement on what should be done. Despite our diverse philosophies and political leanings, we have found solid common ground. We… more

Cost Of Failure

Health Policy — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 06:07:00 -0400

In 2000, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimated that the “annualized economic cost of the diminished health and shorter lifespan of Americans who lack health insurance is between $65 and $130 billion for each year of health insurance forgone.”

After updating the IOM’s numbers to reflect growth in the economy and increases in the number of uninsured, we estimate that the poor health and shorter lifespan of the uninsured cost the U.S. economy between $102 billion and $204 billion in 2006. This estimate does not include spillover costs. For example, when medical bills go unpaid, providers attempt to recoup lost revenues… more

Lessons From California's Health Reform Efforts For the National Debate

Health Policy — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:10:00 -0500

In January 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a comprehensive health care plan that aimed to provide quality, affordable health insurance to all Californians. Based on individual responsibility, the plan focused on prevention and wellness and emphasized a shared responsibility approach to financing.

After almost a year of negotiations between Governor Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislative leaders, compromise legislation with a framework and goals similar to the governor’s original proposal passed the State Assembly with a large majority. This compromise legislation, however, was later rejected by the California Senate’s Health committee.

The effort to reform California’s health care system faced several… more

Who Receives Uncompensated Care?

Health Policy — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:16:00 -0500

Uncompensated care (UC) is health care that is delivered, but not paid for by either a patient or a third party payer. Most UC is delivered to the very ill during or after a visit to an emergency room. In 2004, UC was estimated to total $41 billion dollars.

This issue brief finds that individuals with incomes above 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) or $41,300 for a family of four and people living at or below the poverty level account for two-thirds of all UC in the U.S.

Three policy solutions may be necessary to reduce UC costs:… more

Health Care Reporting Guide for Journalists

Health Policy — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:08:00 -0500

For reporters new to the health beat -- or for political or business reporters who need to delve into health policy now and then -- the topic can be daunting. Luckily, there are many, many resources on the web, useful whether you are in Washington or around the country... If you find yourself drowning in jargon and acronyms, it helps to take a breath and remember that health care is about people, and that it affects every one of us, and everyone we care about.

This issue brief discusses three common health care concepts:

Universal coverage v. Universal access More care ≠ Better… more

What Hill Staff Should Know About Health Care

Health Policy — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 10:59:00 -0500

Our current health system is not sustainable. It leaves many Americans without access to quality, affordable health coverage, weakens the ability for U.S. businesses to compete internationally, and threatens the stability of our economy.

There are many ways that we could achieve a system of coverage for all Americans. However, in order to be economically and politically sustainable over time, any comprehensive reform plan must:

Cover all Americans

Lack of health insurance negatively affects the overall productivity of society, the stability of emergency care, and the health and financial well-being of individuals.

Control health care cost growth

No health reform proposal will be sustainable over… more

The President's Medicare Proposal

Fiscal Policy — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Last week, the Bush administration released a proposal to

raise the Medicare premiums for wealthy Americans enrolled in the prescription drug program; reform medical liability laws; and introduce "value-based health care" measures to improve Medicare efficiency.

The proposal was issued in compliance with the "trigger" provision of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. This provision states that the President must present a plan when, for two consecutive years, the Medicare program's trustees estimate that funds taken from general revenues will exceed 45 percent of Medicare's total funding in any of the next seven years.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget strongly… more

Rethinking Social Insurance

Fiscal Policy — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

The single greatest threat to the fiscal health of the United States is the runaway growth of the nation’s major retirement and health care entitlement programs. Social Security and Medicare are projected to grow from 7.5 percent of GDP today to almost 13 percent of GDP by 2030. Already, the two programs consume over a third of the federal budget. The total present value of costs that will exceed earmarked revenues of Social Security and Medicare over the next 75 years is $41 trillion, or, as the Government Accountability Office points out, a debt burden of $135,000 for every man, woman, and child in America. If… more

Myths About the Individual Mandate

Health Policy — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:50:00 -0500

Requiring individuals to purchase health insurance -- the so-called “individual mandate” -- is the subject of much debate. In its latest fact sheet, the Health Policy Program addresses some of the most popular myths about an individual mandate and explains why requiring individuals to purchase health insurance is a necessary component of any plan that seeks to cover all Americans.

Myth: If individuals choose to be uninsured, there are no consequences to society.

Fact: The uninsured increase the price of premiums for the insured and drive uncompensated care costs that taxpayers and health care providers must absorb. They place undue… more

Why Does Health Insurance Matter?

Health Policy — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:06:00 -0500

Presidential candidates are travelling across the nation touting their respective plans to reform our nation’s struggling health system. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, do you ever wonder: why all the fuss about health coverage? Campaign rhetoric aside -- why does health insurance really matter? The New America Foundation today released “Why Does Health Insurance Matter?” This short policy brief outlines the societal, economic, and health-related consequences of the uninsured. “Lack of health insurance negatively affects the overall productivity of society, the stability of emergency care, and the health… more

Why the State's Budget Gap Shouldn't Derail Health Care Reform

Health Policy — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:47:00 -0500

On January 15, 2008, the San Francisco Chronicle featured an opinion piece authored by Leif Wellington Haase and Peter Harbage of the New America Foundation. The article, titled “Why the state’s the budget gap shouldn’t derail health reform,” presented several statistics on the importance of health reform. This background and analysis document offers the underlying support for the statistics used in their argument.

Who Are The Uninsured?

Health Policy — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:01:00 -0500

In the U.S., what region of the country has nearly half of all uninsured Americans? Are they employed? What is their economic background? How about their race? Who are the uninsured? To find out, click here.

To view Health Policy Program Director Len Nichol's related presentation, click here.

Health Debate Reality Check: The Role of Individual Requirements

Health Policy — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:57:00 -0500

The good news is that presidential candidates in both parties are talking about making health insurance and care more affordable in lots of ways. The inevitable bad news is that a few key points have become confused in escalating campaign combat. We three health economists, not affiliated with any specific campaign, feel compelled to clarify what health policy research does and does not have to say about an issue central to current campaign debates, the role of an individual requirement to purchase insurance.

An individual requirement to buy or acquire health insurance is a necessary element of any proposal that aims… more

Balancing Act: Creating a Sustainable Health Care Benefits Package

Health Policy — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 07:45:00 -0400

Stakeholders of all stripes are at near-consensus on the importance of adequate health care coverage for all Americans. To date, steadily rising costs and the expanding ranks of the uninsured have led policymakers to concentrate on how to finance universal coverage. Communities and states that have succeeded in developing a workable financing structure are now faced with the equally challenging task of constructing a benefits package that is fair, affordable, and sustainable.

In order to create viable coverage models, we must examine certain assumptions: that all health care has value and must be covered; that insurance is to pay for… more

Coverage Without Gaps

Health Policy — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 08:24:00 -0400

In America’s fragmented health care system, too many individuals and families lack continuous access to health insurance. Overwhelming evidence shows that lacking health insurance leads to decreased access to quality care and reduces health status. The widely shared social and economic losses from these problems compound the cost of thousands of lives lost every year due to lack of health insurance and consequently access to care. In this context, health reform that ensures every individual and family seamless health insurance is more a matter of stewardship than of charity.

The goal of California health reform should be seamless, universal coverage,… more

A Sustainable Health System for All Americans

adminn — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 11:48:00 -0400

Executive Summary

America’s health care system fails to meet the standards set by its peers around the world. It delivers substandard patient care far too often, leaves tens of millions uninsured, and its rising cost growth threatens the foundations of our economy and society. Unless we move toward comprehensive, system-wide reform, we will continue to waste billions of dollars and thousands of lives every year in a health care system that is riddled with ineffi ciencies. A health care system for the Next Social Contract should correct these deficiencies by expanding coverage, creating better incentives for quality and efficiency, and linking… more

What Your Car Can Teach You About Health Reform

Health Policy — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 08:03:00 -0400

Analysts largely agree that if you want everyone to have health insurance, you’re going to have to require it. “Individual mandates” to purchase health insurance would also help insurance markets work better than they do now, since insurers would then find it far easier to attract a balance of high and low risks if all had to buy something. Therefore they would need to do far less medical underwriting (risk evaluation) and targeted marketing, and that would lower the cost of insurance to us all. And of course, if all patients had good insurance, then hospitals and doctors would… more

Growing Support for Shared and Personal Responsibility in Health Care

Health Policy — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 08:54:00 -0400

Fear is a powerful force. Families fear the disappearance of affordable health insurance, employers fear international competition while financing high and rising health care costs at home, and providers fear that they will not be able to deliver needed care for lack of funding. In short, just about everyone fears that our system will fall apart. Instead of taking action, many politicians remain fearful of tackling health care reform, since it crushed the Clintons and others before them.

But hope is an equally powerful force. And the hope is that there is growing bipartisan support for a health system based… more

Estimating the 'Hidden Tax' on Insured Californians Due to the Care Needed and Received by the Uninsured

adminn — Mon, 21 May 2007 10:33:00 -0400

The report released today by the Hoover Institution confirms that insured families across California pay a "hidden tax" to provide uncompensated health care to the uninsured. The existence of this "hidden tax" is no longer in dispute; what's under debate is its magnitude, which is hard to measure precisely because it is "hidden."

This memo describes the range of estimates that various experts have made, highlights some of the reasons for differing judgments, and then lets the reader draw his or her own conclusions about the reasonable range of hidden tax estimates.

For the complete Policy… more