The Health Coverage Coalition for the Uninsured, comprising 16 of the nation’s leading healthcare organizations, has announced that it has developed a proposal that would expand health coverage for the country’s uninsured, starting immediately with broader coverage for children in 2007. The agreement includes a balance of private and public initiatives representing the consensus of diverse advocates and is intended to serve as a healthcare reform model for Congress and the president.
HCCU participating organizations include AARP, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, American Public Health Association, America’s Health Insurance Plans, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Catholic Health Association, Families USA, Federation of American Hospitals, Healthcare Leadership Council, Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, Pfizer Inc., United Health Foundation, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The proposal calls for two phases. In the first phase, low-income families would be able to enroll uninsured children in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program or Medicaid at the same time as they apply for other public programs, like reduced-cost lunches or food stamps. The proposal also promotes a new tax credit to help families cover some of the cost of providing private health insurance for their children.
The second phase of the coalition’s proposal, which focuses on uninsured adults, would give states the flexibility and funds to expand Medicaid eligibility to cover all adults with incomes below the federal poverty level. For those with higher incomes, a tax credit would help individuals cover the costs of private insurance.
“Reaching consensus is a long and sometimes difficult process, but every participating group put the interests of America’s uninsured first--even when doing so meant walking away from certain long-held positions,” said Scott P. Serota, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association president and CEO.
