ACP In The News – August 31, 2017

It’s a perfect time to reflect on the national health policy debate over coverage. Not the one we’re having now, but the one we are destined to have some time in the 2020s. Going back at least as far as Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s, once a decade or so, we contemplate major national coverage reforms to the US health care system. While enthusiasm builds in some circles that the next debate has the potential to bring us full universal coverage, the lessons of our recent efforts tell us we often come away with far less than we should.

Here are 4 recommendations for things we should do today in the public and private sectors to give our next run at health care coverage the greatest chance of success:

• Invest in Public Education at the Grass Roots
• Develop Credible State Results
• Focus Now on Fiscal Sustainability
• Focus Private-Sector Innovation on the Most Vulnerable Populations

Read the full op-ed from Andy Slavitt…

In recent days, Democrats have stepped into the health policy vacuum created by the Republicans’ failure to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Proposals making the rounds include allowing Americans to buy into Medicare at age 55 or to buy into Medicaid. Both Medicare and Medicaid pay lower prices to health care providers compared with private market plans offered by employers and in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. On that basis, you might think these public programs are more cost-efficient. Read the Op-Ed…

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