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Update on Health Reform: Key Issues for Kids

Update on Health Reform: Key Issues for Kids. Jocelyn Guyer, Joan Alker and Cathy Hope 2009 Finish Line Conference Center for Children and Families http://ccf.georgetown.edu Say Ahhh! A Children’s Health Policy Blog at http://www.theccfblog.org July 6, 2009. Importance of Health Reform.

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Update on Health Reform: Key Issues for Kids

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  1. Update on Health Reform:Key Issues for Kids Jocelyn Guyer, Joan Alker and Cathy Hope 2009 Finish Line Conference Center for Children and Families http://ccf.georgetown.edu Say Ahhh! A Children’s Health Policy Blog at http://www.theccfblog.org July 6, 2009

  2. Importance of Health Reform • Historic opportunity to move towards universal coverage with significant new role for federal government in shaping health policy. • Infusion of $1 trillion federal money into health coverage. • New regulatory framework for private insurance.

  3. Importance of Health Reform to Kids • Coverage for their parents and others who care for them • Much-needed relief for family budgets • Improvements to the health care delivery system • Chance to cover remaining uninsured children and make sure they get the care they need

  4. Schedule for Health Reform

  5. Senate HELP Committee Schedule • Early June, an initial bill was released. • Markup is in process. • Goal is to combine with Senate Finance Committee bill in July.

  6. Senate Finance Committee Schedule • Issued options papers, but no bill as of yet. • Initial mark release postponed after $1.6 trillion CBO score. • New mark will be available at the end of this week???

  7. House Tri-Committee Schedule • An initial bill released in mid-June. Revised version imminent. • Markup later this week??

  8. The Remaining (Optimist’s) Schedule • House and Senate floor action by the end of July. • Conference in the fall after August recess. • Health Care Reform bill on President Obama’s desk by October.

  9. Contents of The Bills

  10. Build on What Works My view is that reform should be guided by a simple principle: we fix what's broken and build on what works. -President Obama June 11, 2009 Green Bay, WI

  11. Build on What Works; Fix What Doesn’t • Keep employer-based coverage • Expand public programs • Create an “Exchange” • Create a related subsidy program for remaining uninsured • “Shared responsibility” • Individual mandate • Employers offer coverage or help finance subsidy program • Government spends more

  12. Overall Structure Employer-based coverage Medicaid Uninsured people The “Exchange” Note: Relative size of these circles is unclear

  13. Which Children Will Remain Uninsured? • Immigrant children • Children whose parents cannot comply with the mandate for whatever reason • Red-tape barriers to coverage in Medicaid • Affordability issues

  14. Issues for Kids in Health Reform CCF’s Framework for Evaluating Bills • Building Affordable Coverage Pathways for All of America’s Children • Beyond Insurance – Ensuring Children Get the Care They Need • Creating a Family-Friendly, “No Wrong Door” Enrollment and Renewal Process • Strengthening Financing for Public Programs

  15. How Do Kids Get Coverage?

  16. What Happens to CHIP?

  17. What kind of coverage will kids get? The Big Punt

  18. What Kind of Coverage?

  19. How Much Would it Cost to Buy Subsidized Exchange Coverage?

  20. What Kind of Out-of-Pocket Costs Will Children in the Exchange Face?

  21. What Efforts Are Made to Transform the Delivery System for Children?

  22. How Do You Get Signed Up?

  23. Strengthening Financing

  24. Messaging

  25. Value For health care reform to be viewed as a success it must ensure everyone has access to quality, reliable coverage – that includes the millions of our children who remain uninsured or do not get the care they need.

  26. Issues Proposals could: • Fall apart entirely; • Risk the stability of the highly-effective Medicaid and CHIP programs; • Fail to address the red-tape barriers to coverage that could make it more complicated for parents to enroll their children in coverage; and • Ignore the unique health care needs of children in efforts to improve the health care delivery system and design benefit packages.

  27. Ask • Adopt health reform. The country has before it an historical opportunity to provide affordable, high quality-care to everyone and put the nation’s economy on a stronger footing. • Do no harm.   Before making major changes to existing, successful initiatives, Congress should guarantee that children will receive comparable benefits at an affordable price under any new program.  • Insure all kids.   Eliminating red tape and bureaucracy by simplifying enrollment would be the cheapest, quickest and smartest next step toward getting most of our children covered. • Cover Kids from Head to Toe.  All children need coverage that meets their unique developmental needs, and provides them with the preventive services, medical care, and oral and mental health benefits needed to launch them on a better trajectory in life.

  28. Vision There are no do-overs for childhood. Let’s make sure Congress gets health reform right the first time.  For health reform to be truly successful, it must ensure that everyone – including all of our children -- have high-quality, affordable coverage.

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