From the Heritage Foundation:
- Health care reform must expand health insurance coverage by making it affordable for all Americans to purchase, especially those with pre-existing conditions.
- Any reform bill would use private plans to deliver the coverage.
- Reform must foster an atmosphere of competition by demanding that insurers compete on price and value, rather than providing the ability to pick lower-cost, low-risk patients.
- A bipartisan bill would protect consumers by providing them with better information about quality, price and the nature of coverage within competing health plans.
- There would be an appropriate level of government oversight in the marketplace to protect patients from abuse that occurs at times in today’s market.
- The bill would provide advance subsidies to low-income American to help them purchase private health insurance.
The final requisite is that any health care reform must be fully paid for, Enzi charged. “It is my belief that our nation has maxed out its credit card,” he said, noting the Medicare and Social Security are projected to go bankrupt sooner than anticipated a year ago.
Also interesting is Mr. Enzi’s proposals for paying for the $636 billion downpayment that will be needed for reform to happen…reforming the tax exclusion on employer-based benefits.