2008-09 AMSA Legislative Agenda

7. Congress must overhaul America’s health care system to create a single, comprehensive publicly funded, privately provided system of health care for all.

Federal-Level Background

Our leaders in Congress and in the White House have a responsibility to ensure everyone in America has access to quality, affordable health care. In tough economic times, taxpayers deserve a break on high-deductible, high-premium insurance: our health care system needs to be something every family can afford, not a system for increasing profits for insurance companies.

CMS has authority to "waive" certain statutory requirements so a State can, for example, cover certain benefits or eligibility groups that could not otherwise be covered under Medicaid 34. These waivers are often also used to spend tax dollars on private health care systems.

AMSA Federal Position

Our next president must eliminate wasteful administrative costs and support a health care system that is publicly accountable to taxpayers and patients. The costs of an American health care system should be controlled with a single, streamlined funding source, with strong, public health advocate organizations to ensure high quality while minimizing costs.

Congress must reauthorize the Childrens’ Health Insurance Program, enacted as Title XXI of the Social Security Act, for children ages 0-18 in households at or below a minimum of 300% of Federal Poverty Level (FPL).

Congress must reauthorize, protect, and strengthen Medicaid. Policies must be made that increase Medicaid funding for state and local health services. The number of people who qualify for Medicaid coverage must be expanded. The number of services covered by Medicaid must be increased, especially services such as prescription drug costs and further primary care services not currently considered mandatory.  Medicaid reimbursement rates must be set at rates that incentivize providers to care for low-income populations, and our public health systems must actively seek out and enroll patients from these populations. Medicaid waivers must not be used to spend public tax dollars on privatizing our public health care system.

State-Level Background

States need a strong federal partnership to help create a streamlined, single system of a publicly funded, publicly accountable national health plan. The long-term goal of our work on state-based legislation is to achieve access for 100% of the people in the United States. Merely providing increased or new access to small segments of the population or to individual states may be a necessary approach, but is not a sufficient solution to the problems with our current health care. 

AMSA State Position

State legislators must pass, fund and support state-based programs to provide quality, affordable health care for all.

1. California: [S.B.840] or the California Health Insurance Reliability Act is a compromise bill between Gov. Schwarzenegger, Assembly Speaker Nunez, and Senate Pro Term Perata. It provides health care security, choice of provider, full and fair reimbursement for providers, and a comprehensive, high-quality system of health care for everyone In California 35. The State of California must also pass SB1014, the corresponding financing bill.

2. Ohio: The "Healthcare Coverage Reform Initiative" is the product of a year-long collaboration between a wide array of stakeholders in Ohio who have generated a list of recommendations to the governor that would cover an additional 500,000 people in the state by 2011 36. The recommendations include expanding public programs to a higher percentage of federal poverty level (FPL) and expanding employer-based coverage of youth to the age of 29. The Governor of Ohio must recommend that the state legislature must support and pass this legislation, to provide health care for everyone in Ohio.

3. Pennsylvania: [S.B. 300], [H.B. 1660] or the Family and Business Health Security Act will replace the current privatized fragmented system of health care in Pennsylvania with a single payment system for quality, affordable health care for everyone in the State of Pennsylvania. This Act will further establish state regulatory boards to implement and monitor a transition from the current amalgam of plans to a comprehensive model 37. The state legislature of Pennsylvania must pass this bill to ensure health care for the public health of Pennsylvania.

34 http://www.hrsa.gov/medicaidprimer/
35 http://www.healthcareforall.org/factsheet.pdf
36 http://www.healthcarereform.ohio.gov/initiative.aspx
37 http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2007&sind=0&body=S&type=B&BN=0300