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Paper: Trigger best option for reform
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Contributor | ArmyDem |
Last Edited | ArmyDem Nov 28, 2009 05:37pm |
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Category | News |
News Date | Wednesday, November 25, 2009 11:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
Description | By DAVID ROGERS | 11/25/09 3:11 PM EST
Democrats searching for a compromise on health care reform may find a little Thanksgiving light in a new policy paper out Wednesday: Skip a “weak” public option now in favor of a much stronger one that would kick in automatically if the health industry doesn’t meet its promises to slow the growth in medical costs.
The paper, from the Washington-based Urban Institute, offers a fresh look at the whole public option debate, casting the issue as “one of fiscal conservatism” — more about containing health costs than extending benefits to the uninsured.
Its authors accept the likelihood of a trigger as proposed by Republican moderates but suggest it be tied to proven government data on national health expenditures rather than some new index to measure the affordability of coverage. And, in effect, the health industry would be given a three- to four-year test period to show its ability to slow the growth in costs.
Failure would trigger a more powerful public insurance competitor than either the House or the Senate has yet embraced — one that challenges not just the market power of insurers but also providers, especially hospitals.
“A strong version is necessary because there is little else in health reform that can be counted on to contribute significantly to cost containment in the short term,” the authors write. A trigger means delay, but “even the threat of such a plan being triggered offers the potential to affect market dynamics between insurers and providers.” |
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