When asked to consider the health reform proposals of the 2008 presidential candidates, most leaders in health care and health policy favor plans that build on the nation’s current mixed system of public and private group insurance, a new survey finds. Proposals relying on tax incentives that help individuals purchase coverage themselves, however, are viewed by these same experts as ineffective strategies for either achieving universal healthcare coverage or containing spiraling healthcare costs.
Key elements of the mixed private-public proposals--which have been put forward by Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as well as former Sen. John Edwards--received widespread support in the latest Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey. For instance, 83 percent of the opinion leaders surveyed said they favor requiring that all individuals obtain health insurance, with premium assistance available for low- and moderate-income Americans. Most (71 percent) respondents also support requiring employers to either offer coverage to employees or pay a percentage of their payroll to help finance expanded coverage. Support for a “pay-or-play” requirement is strong even among opinion leaders in the business community, with 66 percent approving such a feature.
