Healthcare Vouchers

A New Solution to the Health System Crisis

A recent New York Times/CBS national poll found Americans very convinced that our current health care system is not working effectively and needs reform. National citizen consensus did not extend to the method of reform or the shape a new health care system would take. Likewise, our national and state leaders are divided. Many proposals are bantered about on how to repair our broken health care system, but none have caught fire.

Guaranteed HealthCare Access Plan

Prof. Fuchs of Stanford and Dr. Emanuel of the NIH have devised a novel and creative solution to America’s health system crisis. The Guaranteed HealthCare Access Plan would provide affordable quality health care coverage for all three hundred million Americans. The proposal also addresses the significant quality issues and lack of prevention inherent in the current health system. The new system would be funded by a solid, independent, and fair funding system.

Their concept is that every American and family would receive a healthcare voucher. They would choose a health plan on a national health insurance exchange of qualified health plans with their voucher. This system would retain the current healthcare providers. The difference is that it would create competition to offer health plans that meet the needs of citizens and provide citizens more choices. In nearly twenty states and most rural areas of America, there is little choice as health care markets are dominated by one or two insurance companies that don't need to compete. This has resulted in high health plan costs and poor quality coverage.

Many studies, blue-ribbon commissions, and experts have studied our health care system and have developed a checklist of conditions that a new health care system should meet. Typical of these is the National Coalition on Health Care which found that any reformed system must address Five Principles:

1) Health care coverage for all Americans

2) Cost Management

3) Improvement of health care quality and safety

4) Equitable Financing

5) Simplified Administration

The Guaranteed HealthCare plan systematically and effectively addresses all five principles of the NCHC.

You can read more about Guaranteed HealthCare at this link.