New Proposals Would Share Responsibility for Insurance Coverage
<p>Over the last year, state health coverage initiatives have been gathering momentum. Several pending congressional bills on health care reform, a proposal from the Bush administration, and growing attention to health insurance on the 2008 campaign trail all suggest that health care coverage is becoming a national priority as well.<br><bR>In a <a href="/cnlib/pub/enews_clickthrough.htm?enews_item_id=27815&return_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ecmwf%2Eorg%2Faboutus%2Faboutus%5Fshow%2Ehtm%3Fdoc%5Fid%3D473954%26%23doc473954">new column,</a> Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis points out that most of the plans are built upon the same foundation: the concept of "shared responsibility." This idea posits that individuals, employers, and state and federal governments all bear responsibility for health insurance.<bR><bR>Davis reviews the findings of a recent Fund report on the potential impact of the different proposals on the number of uninsured and on costs--and highlights the ways in which they incorporate the shared responsibility concept. She calls for federal leadership and funding to support state efforts building to a national solution.<bR><br>"In so doing, the United States can ensure that like other industrialized nations it provides affordable high-quality health insurance to all," she writes.</p>
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/newsletters/ealerts/2007/apr/new-proposals-would-share-responsibility-for-insurance-coverage