For decades, health care reform discussions have left those without health care coverage empty handed and those struggling with the high cost of coverage disappointed. Next year there is an opportunity for the nation to try again.

The Board of Directors of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) has offered four detailed proposals to provide coverage to all Americans, to improve quality, to reduce the cost of care, and to ensure that no one purchasing individual coverage falls through the cracks.

"We welcome and intend to make a significant contribution to the national discussion of how to blend public and private strategies to achieve a uniquely American solution that can work and be enacted," said Karen Ignagni, President and CEO of AHIP. "We advocate providing coverage for all Americans by repairing the safety net and providing a helping hand to working families and small business owners who are struggling to afford coverage. To accomplish this goal, we must address thecore medicalcostdrivers that are driving up the cost of coverage."

Ignagni noted that the rising cost of health care treatments is driving up the cost of coverage due to wide variations in care; overuse, underuse, and misuse of services; and proliferation of new technologies without evidence to compare their effectiveness.

To learn more about AHIP's health care reform proposals, visit http://www.AHIPBelieves.com.

http://www.ahip.org