While Alexandre Dumas made the line “All for one, one for all” famous in his tale of three sword-wielding friends, healthcare leaders may want to lay claim to it as well. As part of the 19th Commonwealth Fund/
Modern Healthcare Opinion Leaders survey, 208 experts offer their opinions on what needs to be done to change the system and expand coverage to the millions of uninsured and underinsured people living in the U.S.
More than two-thirds of Opinion Leaders (68%) say it is urgent to enact comprehensive health reform this year, while only 21% say the Obama administration and Congress should make a “down payment” this year to cover the most vulnerable. Additionally, 69% of respondents say reform should include both public and private plans.
Seventy-seven percent of the experts strongly support or support requiring employers to either offer coverage or pay a percentage of their payroll to help finance expanded coverage. Also, while the idea has lost momentum in Congress, 79% of Opinion Leaders strongly support or support increasing so-called “sin” or “sugar” taxes on spirits, nicotine products and sugar-sweetened beverages.
Finally, 71% of the respondents say they strongly support or support setting limits on payments to high-cost providers and/or overvalued services.
Full coverage of the survey results—as well as commentaries by Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Michael Burgess (R-Texas)—will be published July 27 in
Modern Healthcare, and online at
ModernHealthcare.com and at
commonwealthfund.org.
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mheditorial@modernhealthcare.com. Please be sure to include your hometown and state, along with your organization and title.
