Fact
Sheet - State-Based Health Care Reform Act
July 24, 2006
U.S. Senator Russ Feingold introduced the
State-Based Health Care Reform Act in order to end the political
stalemate in Congress that has been preventing meaningful
health coverage from being enacted.
Feingold’s State-Based
Health Care Reform Act:
- Authorizes funding for pilot projects
so that a few states can ensure health care coverage to
all their residents.
- Gives flexibility to the states to
use their own approach to achieve health care coverage for
all their residents.
- Instead of requiring states to follow
a certain program, Feingold’s bill gives states the
flexibilityto achieve expanded coverage through any system
deemed appropriate by a Health Care Reform Task Force.
Overview of Project:
- The pilot programs would last
for five years and would be funded through a grant application
program overseen by the Health Care Reform Task Force established
in the legislation.
- The Health Care Reform Task Force would
evaluate state applications, select state projects, and
oversee implementation of the states’ proposals.
- Participating states will be required
to submit an annual report to the Task Force detailing their
progress.
- The Task Force will be a committee
with members appointed by the Government Accountability
Office’s Comptroller General. The Task Force will
be housed under Health and Human Services (HHS), and the
Secretary of HHS will be a member of the Task Force.
- The bill will cost $32 billion
over ten years and is fully paid for through offsets, making
funding available right away and allowing the program to
take effect immediately.
State Plan Requirements:
- Coverage must meet certain minimum
standards and must include protections for low-income people.
- Once approved by the Task Force, a
state will be required to provide some matching funds.
- States are expected to improve the
efficiency of health care spending and work to lower health
care costs.
Congressional Action:
- The Task Force will be responsible
for submitting an evaluation of all pilot projects to Congress
at the end of the initial five-year grant period.
- The recommendations will be based on
states’ experiences, and the bill requires congressional
debate of these recommendations and findings.
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