Feature Story

October 18, 2007

Commission of Nation's Leading Health Policy Experts Says Mix of Private/Public Insurance Most Practical Way to Achieve Universal Coverage

From The Commonwealth Fund:

Health insurance reform plans that build on a mix of private and public health insurance, where costs are shared among government, employers, and enrollees would have great potential to move the system to high performance and would be the most practical to implement according to a new report released today by The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System.

Commissioners are a diverse group of leading health policy experts from government, private industry, health care delivery organizations, academia, and professional associations.

Affordable, comprehensive health insurance coverage for all Americans is essential to achieving a high performance health system, say the report authors, because coverage helps to ensure access to essential preventive services; improve overall health; cut down on inefficiencies like duplicate medical tests; reduce administrative costs; and eliminate costly uncompensated care for uninsured and underinsured families.

However, the way coverage reform plans are designed will be critical to their success and ability to offer all participants access to high-quality, efficient, and equitable health care, according to the analysis, A Roadmap to Health Insurance for All: Principles for Reform, prepared for the Commission by Sara Collins, Assistant Vice President at The Commonwealth Fund and colleagues.

The report describes how all of the health insurance reform plans now being proposed by presidential candidates and lawmakers fall into one of three general types---tax incentives and individual insurance markets; mixed private-public group insurance with shared responsibility for financing; and public insurance.

The report also outlines key principles for health care reform that all Americans should keep in mind as they consider these plans.

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