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March 23, 2005
Since 2000, the number of uninsured Americans has risen by five million, to 45 million, or nearly 16 percent of all Americans. The United States spends $41 billion per year on "uncompensated" care for people with no insurance, while the economy loses between $65 billion and $130 billion in productivity. More than 18,000 25- to 64-year-olds die every year because they don't have health insurance. We can do better. Today, the Center for American Progress presents a comprehensive plan to improve the health of all Americans. The Plan for a Healthy America provides an innovative blueprint for affordable, quality health coverage, building on the strengths of our current system while responding to its serious shortcomings.
- Goal #1: Provide affordable coverage for all Americans. Under American Progress's plan, health coverage would be available and affordable for all Americans, through either employee-sponsored insurance, Medicaid, or a new group insurance pool modeled on the system used by federal employees and members of Congress. In return for guaranteed access to affordable coverage, all Americans would be expected to enroll in one of the available options or pay an income-related charge to support the care they will inevitably use.
- Goal #2: Improve the quality of health care for everyone. American Progress's plan seeks to improve the value of health coverage in three ways. First, the plan puts wellness ahead of illness by calling for a national focus on disease prevention and health promotion. Coverage for preventive services would be taken out of the insurance system and coordinated through a new, nationwide but community-based benefit focused on training people to be better managers of their own health. Second, the plan would increase funding for research on "comparative effectiveness," so individuals and their providers would have access to the information required to make good treatment decisions. Finally, the plan would seek to improve health care productivity through information technology. An investment in cutting edge technology would eventually lead to better quality and more efficient health care.
- Goal #3: Fully finance universal health coverage. Because of the fiscal deterioration that has occurred under President Bush's watch – transforming a record surplus into a record deficit – the Plan for a Healthy America calls on Americans to make an investment in improving their health care. The plan seeks to do this through a small value-added tax (VAT), the revenues from which would go to a trust fund used exclusively to finance the plan. A VAT is a tax on the value of a good or service during various stages of production. Targeted exemptions would ensure the tax is broad-based and fair, and would reduce its impact on low-income individuals. Ensuring affordable, quality health care is this generation's great challenge. With conviction and persistence, armed with a practical, fair and responsible plan, this worthy goal can be achieved.
Daily Talking Points is a product of the American Progress Action Fund. |
Daily Talking Points is a product of the American Progress Action Fund. |
