On Friday, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) began circulating a draft of the America Health Choices Act, a healthcare reform plan that would require individuals to have, and employers to provide, health insurance, and would require payment structures to reward quality and wellness. The draft bill would establish a public health plan.
The draft bill is a product of the influential Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Kennedy is chairman of that committee, although health problems have led to his being absent during much of its work on health reform, leaving committee leadership largely to Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.). The 171-page document places responsibility on employers to either provide workers with insurance coverage or help them pay for insurance. The bill calls for all insurance plans to provide payment incentives for case management, care coordination, chronic disease management, discharge planning designed to prevent hospital readmissions, evidence-based care processes, and preventive care. The bill calls for these payment structures to reflect those of the Medicare program.
Debate on the bill within the committee may begin June 15. The bill will be compared with draft legislation emerging from the Senate Finance Committee.
