Applebees Says Universal Coverage could pay for itself; buys plans for customers

[OzarkDem]

Hah, I tricked you into reading a health care policy report...:P

An excellent new report from the Commonwealth Fund illustrates how savings from controlling health care costs and improving quality in conjunction with a model universal coverage plan could actually save money instead of costing. A model they developed - Insurance Connector - would provide access to affordable coverage (subsidized for low income people) by giving the public a choice between private insurance plans and Medicare (so far it sounds a lot like John Edwards plan).

There's a lot of data here to look at, but one of the more important aspects of the report is that cutting costs and providing affordable universal coverage must be done concurrently, or both will result in high costs in the years to come. IOW, enacting a health care reform plan that only addresses lowering the cost of health care without providing universal coverage will still result in rising health care costs due to continued growth of uninsured Americans. Conversely, enacting a program to provide universal health coverage, particularly under plans w/ taxpayer subsidy of private insurance plans, without enacting plans to control costs would result in health system cost increases of $15 billion the first year and $218 billion over the next ten years. It seems Massachusetts and a few other states are learning this lesson the hard way.

If both cost control and quality & efficiency reforms are enacted simultaneously with the Insurance Connector model, cumulative savings over 10 years would equal $1.5 trillion.

The executive summary is at the link above, but there is more information at the site, including cost savings for different proposals they developed. It certainly seems to make sense that controlling health care costs and improving efficiency would offset increases in the cost of providing universal coverage. It should also serve as a cautionary warning against attempting to publicly subsidize the purchase of private insurance without addressing cost controls.

There's enough data here to allow anyone to calculate the costs of any candidate's health care reform plan with some interesting results.

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=620087

Link to interactive web feature of the Report

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/usr_doc/site_docs/slideshows/SavingsMatrix/matrix.html

[PSPS]

1. Perhaps a step in the right direction

Perhaps this is a step in the right direction, but any plan that includes the private insurance industry is just another giveaway of our treasury to underwrite the obscene lifestyles of the multi-millionaire insurance CEO's.

[OzarkDem]

2. Read the report a little more closely

Its more of a set of building blocks that can be used to assemble any kind of health care reform, but it gives the cost of adding or removing facets of each plan.


It also uses Edwards model of forcing private insurers to compete w/ Medicare, somthing that will eventually drive most private insurers out of business.

[Triana]

6. This is why I liked Edwards plan....

...he'd force private companies to compete with Medicare/gov't provided benefits. People gawked at that, but we can't just put them out of business immediately. Logistically and economically, it's not possible. A plan has to allow them to gradually either go out of business of profiting from healthcare, or to compete with gov't provided plans. Their profiteering effects would be gradually be minimized and/or eliminated.

It's a good plan, IMO.

[Leopolds Ghost]

9. Does it remove the right of Americans to opt out of private, non-tax-supported insurance?

[catnhatnh]

3. Hah, I tricked you....

Yes, you did. In my book that is one strike. When I scan for threads to read I go by my interest in the tread title and by poster.Certain posters automatically get a read since I either have developed a relationship with them or their posts are consistently of a high quality.Others are mostly ignored and those include posters who "trick me" (cry wolf) too many times....

[OzarkDem]

4. Sorry if a great report on evaluating health care reform

offends you. I happen to think its a good idea for DU'ers to become educated about health care reform plans and how to evaluate the different proposals, as well as some that aren't.

Since I don't normally post about Applebees, Olive Garden, Britney Spears or breast feeding in public, you probably won't be reading my threads. Some read DU for entertainment and gossip, some for understanding issues and making an impact. To each his own.

[catnhatnh]

5. How supercilious and smarmy a reply....

I never said your POST offended me-I said that continuing using "Grabbers" in your thread title would influence me to remember your name and make me less likely to read your other posts.Frankly, I don't give a rat's ass what you "think" I should "become educated about".In your second paragraph you imply that I am a moron who normally only reads celebrity and sex threads and that Oh so Wonderful you are above posting that type of thing. However you ARE the one who typed Applebee's into the title and I AM the one who opened the thread looking for info on how Applebee's was behaving responsibly and supporting employee healthcare. I will admit you are prescient in predicting my future reading habits. Best of luck with your attitude, Regards, Cat.

[mdmc]

7. that is a cheap trick my friend

:kick:

[Leopolds Ghost]

8. If Universal Coverage means forcing people to buy private health insurance that is fascism

By definition of the term.

State socialism designed to regiment life for the benefit of selected
private, for-profit companies.