House Ways And Means Health Subcommittee Hearing Intended To 'Lay The Groundwork' For U.S. Health System Overhaul

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 17 Apr 2008 - 12:00 PDT

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Health experts and lawmakers discussed ways to overhaul the U.S. health care system at a House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health hearing on Tuesday, CQ HealthBeat reports. Subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) said the hearing was intended to "lay the groundwork" for an expected attempt to overhaul the health insurance system next year. He noted that Congress has not seriously considered a broad health care overhaul since the Clinton administration health plan of 1993, adding, "It's time to revisit it."

Stark said an individual insurance mandate is necessary for expanding health coverage to all U.S. residents. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) has proposed such a mandate, but Stark said he does not necessarily prefer her plan over a proposal by presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), which would mandate coverage only for children.

Experts at the hearing said Congress could begin to address problems in the health system by changing the way the U.S. pays for long-term care or by allowing health care workers to cross state lines to volunteer at no-cost clinics, according to CQ HealthBeat. Former Sen. Dave Durenberger (R-Minn.), who also served on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, said establishing a combination public- and private-insurance program to cover long-term care would be a first step in achieving an "income security policy" for the nation. He also said he did not believe states could achieve universal coverage without federal direction.

Stephen Finan, associate director of policy for the American Cancer Society, testified at the hearing that the organization "had to enter the broader national debate about access to care" because of many stories about cancer patients spending all of their money on treatments for the disease, or choosing not to receive treatment at all (Wayne, CQ HealthBeat, 4/15).

More information about the hearing and links to testimony by witnesses -- which also included Diane Rowland, executive vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation; John Ayanian, a Harvard Medical School professor; Michael O'Grady, a senior fellow at the National Opinion Research Center; and Stan Brock, founder of Remote Area Medical -- are available online.

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