Getting to Universal Health Insurance Coverage Conference

National Academy of Social Insurance’s 20th annual policy conference focused on achieving affordable health coverage for all Americans. The conference brought together the major participants in the health coverage debate to frame the problem, compares specific policy proposals, and identified ways of overcoming the obstacles to reform. Video and transcripts for Day 1 and Day 2 re available through kaisernet.org.

Envisioning the Future: The 2008 Presidential Candidates’ Health Reform Proposals

This report from Commonwealth Fund analyzes the health care proposals of eight Democratic and Republican 2008 presidential candidates—Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Rudolph Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Dennis Kucinich, John McCain, Barack Obama, and Mitt Romney. Their approaches to health insurance reform fall into three categories: 1) proposals that emphasize tax incentives for obtaining insurance through the individual market (Giuliani, Huckabee, McCain, Romney); 2) proposals that build on existing private and public group insurance with shared responsibility for financing coverage (Clinton, Edwards, Obama); and 3) proposals that aim to cover everyone through publicly sponsored insurance systems like Medicare (Kucinich). The report examines differences among the proposals, and evaluates them against key principles like affordability, provision of essential services, financial protection, streamlined administration, and fair financing. Links to full report, chart pack, issue brief and news release

PresidentialRX.com Health Care Reform Website Launched

Health Care and the Presidential Race
The Health Care Solutions Group, 01/08The Health Care Solutions Group, sponsored by Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Nashville Health Care Council, is a new institute intended to bring health care, business and government leaders together to lead and support improvement in the U.S. health care system. It is designed to facilitate the development of solutions to the challenges we face in our health care system, as well as lead and support action to test, demonstrate and implement change that will make a difference. The group has launched a web site, PresidentialRX.com, to provide voters with information on the health care proposals of all 2008 presidential candidates, with a focus on how the health care proposals of the candidates will affect individuals, families, and employers across the country. The site provides a matrix to compare the health care plans of the candidates, describes what they mean in user-friendly terminology, and includes additional resources and links to news items to allow voters to follow the candidates and their health care views throughout the campaign.