Healthcare Financial News

Former Senate leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, and Bob Dole released a bipartisan, budget-neutral framework for comprehensive health reform on Wednesday. The report, Crossing Our Lines: Working Together to Reform the U.S. Health System, calls for all Americans to purchase affordable health insurance; new state and regional coverage options through exchanges; refundable tax credits that limit premium contributions to a percentage of income; tax credits for small businesses that offer coverage; limited fees for employers not offering or paying for health benefits; a tax exclusion linked to the value of benefits received by members of Congress; and the establishment of an independent healthcare council to promote coordination among federal healthcare programs.

Consistent with the federal health reform model, the plan provides for initial financial and technical support to states that choose to establish competing state plan options. The reform blueprint also includes a process that allows the president to submit a plan to Congress for a vote under expedited procedures if, after five years, the HHS Secretary has certified that the existing options do not provide for affordable coverage. The $1.2 trillion plan would be funded through a combination of spending cuts and tax increases, reports the Associated Press.

Acknowledging the compromises made in developing this report, Daschle said he hoped the concessions “can begin to bridge any rifts in the debate and move forward with achieving our common goal of reforming the healthcare system." Baker, Daschle, and Dole are members of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Advisory Board.

Read the reform plan.

The American Hospital Association released a statement that it is “deeply disappointed and concerned” that the Obama administration has proposed cuts of more than $220 billion to hospitals, in addition to the $41 billion in cuts to Medicare already proposed.

Rich Umbdenstock, AHA’s president and CEO, singled out cuts to Medicare and Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) programs. “Even with today's DSH payments, federal health programs pay hospitals more than $32 billion below the cost of caring for patients on average,” said Umbdenstock. “These programs go beyond covering care for the uninsured and serve as a lifeline to hospitals struggling to meet the growing needs of patients and communities. Because of that, we urge lawmakers not to cut DSH programs before coverage expansions are universal and fully implemented as part of reform, and Medicare and Medicaid shortfalls are addressed.”

Umbdenstock also said a proposed productivity adjustment for hospitals “does not make sense” because the measure was not intended for health care. “Instead, our focus needs to be on ensuring that patients receive the right care at the right time in the right setting,” said Umbdenstock. “In addition, the new proposals for long-term care and rehabilitation hospitals are problematic and could serve as a barrier to better coordination of care for patients. Reform must improve care for patients without crippling hospitals' ability to care for patients and communities.”

Read the AHA statement.