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Health Care for All

The need for health care reform is well-known and, to most Americans, indisputable. Numerous statistics and an endless trove of real-life stories document the need for bold health care reform. This section provides four sets of policies to help state legislators and advocates build proposals and political strategies to challenge the self-interests of the health care industry and successfully move health care reform:

The cost of health care is the primary reason at least 47 million Americans lack coverage and at least 25 million more are under-insured, meaning their insurance does not shield them from high health care costs. From 2002 to 2007, family insurance premiums rose 78% while inflation rose 17% and wages a mere 19%. Both employers and employees are feeling the squeeze.

Failure to create a coordinated and user-friendly health care system that provides necessary coverage for all Americans has left us with the endemic health care costs and wasteful spending that define our disjointed health care system. For instance, a staggering 78% of all health care costs are for people with chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and depression - costs which could be reduced with effective management and disease prevention.

PSN's Key Health Care Bills for 2009

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From the Dispatch

Even Conservative States Moving Forward on Health Exchanges

Feb 02, 2012

Faced with a rapidly approaching deadline for establishing state-based health exchanges under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), more than half of all states — including several with conservative control of their legislatures and governor’s offices — have already taken steps to implement this critical piece of the health law set to come online in 2014, according to a report released this month by the White House. By January 1, 2014, consumers will be able to use exchange as one-stop marketplace to find health care plans that fit their needs and will be able to enroll starting in October 2013. With those dates drawing nearer and nearer, many state legislative sessions are opening with implementation of the exchanges at the top of their priority list.

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States Given More Flexibility, Control in Implementing Health Exchanges

Dec 22, 2011

In a surprising move, the Obama administration this week ensured that even more of the debate around health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will take place in state capitols instead of Washington D.C. in the coming years. The role of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in determining the shape of state health insurance exchanges changed on December 16th with the release of a bulletin announcing proposed policies that would give states rather than the federal government the authority in choosing a template for the essential health benefits package offered by the exchanges.

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PSN 2011 Health Care Roundup: Despite Opposition, States Move Forward on ACA, Look to Strengthen Health Security for All

Sep 01, 2011

In 2011 state legislative sessions, lawmakers across the nation in search of common-sense solutions found themselves wrestling with dual challenges on almost every issue: historic budget shortfalls and a charged and starkly changed political climate resulting from an historic wave election in 2010 that saw conservatives take control of 20 new chambers. Both of these factors were front and center on health care measures, as responsible lawmakers joined in the face of these challenges to advance the efficient implementation of the Affordable Care Act, protecting the health security of the most vulnerable and advocating loudly for effective reforms in their statehouses, the courts, and the court of public opinion alike.

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Decision Requires Insurers to Cover No-Cost Birth Control Under ACA

Aug 04, 2011

This week, the US Department of Health and Human Services released a decision stating that birth control will be part of the preventive health care benefits that must be covered under health insurance plans at no cost to consumers. The decision means no out-of-pocket costs, no cost sharing, and no deductible for women who have little to no current access to birth control. The new requirement is part of a comprehensive set of guidelines for women’s preventive care released this week by HHS as part the Affordable Care Act, which requires insurers to cover certain preventive services.

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