Health Affairs

Crossroads in Quality

adminn — Tue, 13 May 2008 11:43:00 -0400

Expanding insurance coverage is a critical step in health reform, but we argue that to be successful, reforms must also address the underlying problems of quality and cost. We identify five fundamental building blocks for a high-performance health system and urge action to create a national center for effectiveness research, develop models of accountable health care entities capable of providing integrated and coordinated care, develop payment models to reward high-value care, develop a national strategy for performance measurement, and pursue a multistakeholder approach to improving population health.

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For the full text of this essay, please see the online reprint at HealthAffairs.org. (Access is free, but only when using the above link.)

The Long Road To Health Reform Requires Bipartisan Leadership

adminn — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:27:00 -0400

The United States appears headed toward another national debate about health system reform. Worry about access and health system deficiencies has reached critical mass, and polls indicate that health care leads the domestic agenda for the 2008 elections. This debate, like previous debates, will succeed or fail in Congress. We highlight key elements of recent sagas in health legislation and offer advice to the next president and Congress for improving the likelihood of a successful outcome in 2009-10:

make health reform a top legislative priority;
be leaders, not partisans; and
develop broad policy consensus but leave the policy details to Congress.

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For the full text of this essay, please see the online reprint at HealthAffairs.org.

(Access is free, but only when using the above link.)

The Moral Case for Covering Children

Cecille Isidro — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 20:55:00 -0400

Abstract: Before the crucial upcoming debate over reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and all of the 10,000 general health reform questions that this discussion will engender, we should consider one fundamental moral question, for our answer will reveal the kinds of policies we actually want to pursue: Who should be allowed to sit at our health care table of plenty?

This essay sketches an answer to this question, drawing on the literature of various faith traditions as well as recent health services research. The short answer is: Everyone, but poor kids have a special place reserved for them.

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For the full text of this essay, please see the online reprint at HealthAffairs.org. (Access is free, but only when using the above link.)

For more on this issue and New America's work on it, please visit the links below:

Overview: Covering Everyone
Video: Len Nichols on the Importance of Universal Coverage (January 2007)
Policy Paper: Mandatory, Affordable Health Insurance (January 2007)
Policy Paper: Shared Responsibility to Cover California's Children (November 2005)
Speech Text: Remarks of Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) RegardingThe Future of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (March 2007)