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Former Senator John Breaux Unveils Recommendations for Bipartisan Health Care Reform

Posted on: Wednesday, 19 April 2006, 12:01 CDT

WASHINGTON, April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Speaking before the World Health Care Congress, former Louisiana Senator John Breaux today announced that his Ceasefire on Health Care campaign has developed several recommendations to achieve meaningful, bipartisan health care reform. Last year, Senator Breaux developed the Ceasefire on Health Care with American University's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies as a means to stimulate dialogue between leading Republican and Democrat policymakers, as well as advocates, on issues including the rising number of uninsured Americans, prevention and wellness, health information technology and reauthorization of State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

"The American people have made it clear that they want Congress to reach a compromise agreement on the issue of the uninsured. It's time for Republicans and Democrats to stop blaming each other for what Congress has not accomplished, and instead share credit for enacting measures that will improve access to and quality of health care in this country," said Breaux. "After hearing from the nation's leading heath care policymakers, I can report that there are indeed practical solutions that have bipartisan support."

Some of the ideas that have emanated from the Ceasefire campaign include: * Congress must begin a dialogue on developing a solution to comprehensively address the uninsured problem through health care reform. The solution is not a government-run system or a fend-for- yourself marketplace but a middle path that combines both. * Congress must reauthorize SCHIP through an aggressive but focused expansion that can significantly improve access to health care for children, while acknowledging budgetary constraints and political realities. * Congress must provide incentives to utilize prevention and wellness services, such as tax incentives, including tax credits and premium rebates, as a means to lower the health care costs related to treating chronic diseases. * The adoption of nationwide interoperable health IT system and widespread use of electronic prescribing technology to reduce medical errors and lower health care costs.

"During his tenure in the U.S. Senate, Breaux understood the importance of reaching across the aisle and seeking accord," said Professor James A. Thurber, director of American University's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies. "We are pleased to sponsor the Ceasefire on Health Care initiative and support bipartisan health care reform."

Previous Ceasefire bipartisan forums have featured former HHS Secretaries Donna Shalala and Tommy Thompson; Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR); Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Joe Schwarz (R-MI); Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Congressman David Scott (D-GA 13th); Republican pollster Bill McInturff and Democratic pollster Geoff Garin; and Brookings Institution scholar, Henry J. Aaron, Ph. D., and Heritage Foundation scholar Stuart M. Butler, Ph. D.

A comprehensive paper outlining Senator Breaux's recommendations follows this release.

The Ceasefire on Health Care series is made possible by a grant from Pfizer Inc.

For more information, please visit http://www.ceasefireonhealthcare.org/. Senator John Breaux World Health Care Congress Ceasefire on Health Care: A Call to Action April 19, 2006

The country's health care system is in crisis. The number of uninsured Americans is at an all-time high, health insurance premiums are rising, health disparities plague our nation's medically underserved populations, and Medicaid is under major strain. While I wholeheartedly support broad health reform, we'll never get there if policymakers can't even implement incremental reforms that have broad-based support. A centrist approach to health care reform is possible -- if the American people insist that their representatives in Congress pursue bipartisan efforts. It's time for Republicans and Democrats to stop blaming each other for what Congress has not accomplished, and instead share credit for enacting measures that will improve access to and quality of health care in this country.

We all remember the television program, Crossfire, where the moderator's goal was to encourage heated debate between people on opposing sides of an issue. While Crossfire has been canceled, I have come up with an alternative: the "Ceasefire on Health Care: Finding Common Ground for the Uninsured" series is an effort to stimulate dialogue among leading Republican and Democratic policymakers, as well as advocates. Over the last year, I have moderated several events in which Republican and Democratic participants are encouraged to come to a consensus on public policies to address health care issues. Senator Robert Menendez and Congressman Joe Schwartz joined me in June to applaud the passage of a bipartisan health care reform measure, "The Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2005." In July, I moderated a panel with Senator Hillary Clinton and Former Speaker Newt Gingrich to discuss healthcare reform, during which health information technology proved to be an area of common ground. Senator Johnny Isakson and Congressman David Scott participated in a Ceasefire event in Atlanta to discuss the merits of community health centers and to demonstrate how the Southside Medical Center provided quality health care to medically underserved populations and the uninsured. We've met with think tank organizations and conducted a survey with leading Democrat and Republican pollsters, and they all tell us the same thing: Americans want Congress to compromise on the issue of the uninsured. For too long there has been only crossfire on health care issues; I want to cease fire and develop thoughtful, meaningful reforms.

After eight months of Ceasefire events, I can report that there are indeed practical solutions to the nation's healthcare problems that have bipartisan support. But in order to be legislated and implemented, members of Congress will have to put aside their differences and focus on these areas of agreement. Here are a few ideas that have emanated from the Ceasefire series that could form the basis of a bipartisan package of health care reforms to be legislated by Congress this year.

The Uninsured and Access to Healthcare: * Begin Dialogue on Health Reform: As Congress works together on the incremental changes needed to improve access to health care, it is vitally important that policymakers also have a dialogue on how to comprehensively address the uninsured problem through health reform. In 2003, I proposed "The Breaux Plan: A Radically Centrist Approach To A New Health Care System" in response to the current system of being insured based on what "box" a person fits in. More than 41 million older and disabled Americans are in the Medicare box; 55 million low- income citizens are in the Medicaid and SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) box; 6.5 million military veterans are in the Veterans Affairs health system box; and more than 160 million working adults and their families are in the employer-sponsored insurance box. Worse, each of these boxes has its own set of problems, threatening the health security of many Americans. In this country, you should have health insurance not because you fit into a box, but because you are an American. Every American should have the right to purchase health insurance at an affordable group rate and should be held accountable to do so. The solution is not a government-run system or a fend-for- yourself marketplace but, instead, a middle path that combines the best of what government can do with the best of what the private sector can do, along with greater individual responsibility for our own health. Agreement on broad-based health reform may take years to accomplish, and should not stall implementation of incremental changes that will improve the current system. Nevertheless, I believe that the underlying principles of individual accountability, shared responsibility between the government and private sector, and choice of health plans provide a good starting place for health reform efforts. * Reauthorize and Strengthen SCHIP: Since its creation almost a decade ago, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) has expanded health care coverage to children in need through an effective partnership between the states and the federal government. Yet despite its demonstrable success, millions of children remain uninsured. These children are not getting the basic medical treatment and preventive care they need. In 2005, the President proposed the Cover the Kids program, which would award grants to eligible entities to conduct innovative outreach and enrollment efforts and give states the option of simplifying children's eligibility determination for medical assistance. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairwoman Nancy Johnson introduced the bill with bipartisan support, giving it credibility as a reform that Congress could accomplish in the near future. Likewise, reauthorization of SCHIP will provide an important opportunity to expand health coverage to children in need by achieving full enrollment of all eligible children. An aggressive but focused expansion of SCHIP can significantly improve access to health care for children within the context of current budgetary constraints and political realities. A successful reauthorization must recognize and address shortcomings in the current program structure, while expanding resources in areas where SCHIP has demonstrated its success and incorporating reform measures adopted in other areas of health care delivery. Specifically, SCHIP reauthorization should focus on: * Strengthening the program's integrity and financing; * Expanding coverage to eligible children in need; * Improving the quality of care; * Reducing health disparities; and * Encouraging employer sponsored coverage. SCHIP reauthorization is an important opportunity to increase available resources for children's health coverage and ensure the program reflects current best practices in health care. Working in close collaboration with key stakeholders, including child advocates and the states, Congress should renew the authorization for SCHIP and improve access to quality health care for our nation's children. * Health Insurance Tax Credits: Most people in this country have access to some health care. The problem is that, for the uninsured, the emergency room serves as their primary care provider -- the most expensive care out there. The costs of treating the uninsured are shifted to other payers in the form of increased premiums. These higher premiums, in turn, make health insurance less affordable for individuals and families. According to a survey by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2003, eight of ten uninsured individuals came from working families. These working adults and families often do not have access to affordable health coverage due to their low incomes (two- thirds of the total uninsured earn less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level). Tax credits would provide incentives for working adults and families to purchase health insurance in the private market, potentially resulting in fewer uninsured patients, less cost shifting and lower premiums. * Long-Term Care Tax Credits: When I was chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, I often said that the good news is that people are living longer and the bad news is ... that people are living longer and straining our country's health care resources. Long-term care continues to be an important issue for us to address, as 77 million baby boomers will retire in 2012 (just five years away). With the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005, the federal government made it harder for individuals to qualify for Medicaid nursing home benefits by increasing penalties on those who have transferred assets for less than fair market value during the past five years and by making individuals with home equity above $500,000 ineligible for nursing home benefits. The DRA also lifted the moratorium on the number of states that may operate Long-Term Care (LTC) Partnership Programs, which allow individuals who purchase long-term care insurance to protect more of their assets if they later need nursing home care under Medicaid. These provisions make it harder for some people to pay for their long-term care. Additional incentives for people to purchase long-term care insurance, such as tax credits, would be a sound policy for Congress to consider. * Expand Community Health Centers (CHCs): CHCs are the primary source of health care for many impoverished and uninsured Americans. Funded through federal grants, CHCs provide primary and preventive health care services in underserved rural and urban communities, and have received widespread support among policymakers. * Improve Access to Health Insurance for Small Businesses: The number of uninsured under age 65 increased by nearly 6 million between 2000 and 2004, primarily due to a decline in employer-sponsored coverage. Many jobs shifted from larger firms to businesses with fewer than 25 employees and many people became self-employed. Thus, although employment began to pick up in 2003, the number of uninsured still grew. Although some proposals to expand access to health care for small businesses have been controversial, I believe there could be bipartisan support for a plan modeled after the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. The idea would be to create large insurance pools for small businesses, which could then deliver benefits to their employees at affordable group-rated premiums.

Prevention and Wellness: Today, chronic diseases -- such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes -- are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. More than 90 million Americans live with chronic diseases, many of whom experience extended pain and suffering and decreased quality of life. Seven out of ten Americans who die each year (or 1.7 million people) die of a chronic disease. Treating people with chronic diseases accounts for more than 75% of the nation's $1.4 trillion medical care costs. Although chronic diseases are among the most common and costly health problems, they are also preventable. Adopting healthy behaviors such as eating nutritious foods, being physically active and avoiding tobacco use can prevent or control the devastating effects of these diseases.

* Provide Incentives to Utilize Prevention and Wellness Services: Considering the enormous toll chronic diseases are taking on Americans and our health care system, I believe there could be bipartisan support for programs that study the causes of these diseases and that promote healthy behaviors. For example, tax incentives, such as tax credits and premium rebates, could be utilized to encourage health plans to improve the quality of prevention and wellness services offered by the health plans and provide an incentive for both participating health plans and beneficiaries to increase utilization of such services. * Health Disparities: The issue of health disparities among racial and ethnic groups -- and other health disparity populations such as individuals in rural areas -- is quickly being recognized as a major health care priority in both public and private health care sectors. It is time that the health care industry move beyond merely acknowledging and documenting health disparities, and begin to implement policies that actually work towards improving minority health and eliminating health disparities. Health disparity efforts should focus on new grants and programs that would do the following: * Use quality measurement programs to address health disparities, including pay for performance programs and data collection programs; and * Expand existing programs that deal with health care disparities as well as broader health care quality issues.

Health Information Technology (IT): The adoption of a nationwide interoperable health IT system and widespread use of electronic prescribing technology would improve the quality of health care, reduce medical errors and lower health care costs. Bipartisan consensus is now emerging regarding the actions the federal government should take to facilitate public and private sector efforts to expand the use of health IT nationwide. To successfully encourage effective and useful implementation of health IT, proposals must address the main barriers to widespread adoption:

* Cost: Health IT will reach into the smallest doctors' offices and the largest hospitals, each of which have different financial resources and technology capabilities. Grants should be available for the upfront costs related to implementing health information systems, including computer hardware and software upgrades and new technologies. Proposals should also include financial incentives for health IT adoption, including adjustments to Medicare payments and tax incentives to encourage the use of health IT. * Interoperability: Health IT policy should require interoperability among technology systems. * Patient Privacy: Health IT policy should ensure privacy and security of patient information. Proposals must strike a balance between the privacy of the patient and provider access to patient information. Patients must know who has access to their information and how their personally identifiable health information may be used.

Ultimately, the creation of an interoperable health information system will require a combination of public and private resources and an effective partnership between federal, state and local governments, as well as health care providers and industry stakeholders.

In closing, I ask you to join our campaign to find common ground in health care reform, and to work with us to highlight the innovative initiatives you are working on. In the meantime, Congress will have to cease fire on health care to keep the existing system sustainable and set the stage for broader reforms in the future.

Ceasefire on Health Care

CONTACT: Claire Barnard of Ceasefire on Health Care, +1-202-262-4708

Web site: http://www.ceasefireonhealthcare.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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