Health Care
Chairs:
Rep. Allyson Schwartz (PA-13)
Rep. Bill Owens (NY-21)
Rep. Kurt Schrader (OR-05)
New Democrats' Rx for Health Reform
Released 2009
Innovation
Harnessing technological, scientific, and medical innovation is the only way we will achieve the promise of a 21st century health care system. Adopting policies that foster innovation and hasten the adoption of new discoveries and best practices will improve the efficiency of our system and better the health of all Americans. We must:
- Set the framework and offer needed incentives for a national, interoperable health IT system to encourage information sharing across multiple providers and proper training for both providers and the necessary health IT support workforce.
- Embrace comparative effectiveness research for new and existing medical procedures, drugs, and devices.
- Establish a reasonable and timely pathway for "follow-on" biologics that leads to cost savings while maintaining incentives for innovation.
Insurance Market Reform
Over 158 million Americans participate in private, employer-sponsored health insurance. As we move forward with efforts to expand coverage to our nation's uninsured, New Democrats support building upon the strengths of the private health insurance market by instituting reforms to make private coverage affordable and meaningful. We must:
- Make health care coverage more affordable small businesses through comprehensive health care reform that builds upon a private-public partnership, and reforms the small group and individual markets.
- Expand access to private coverage through the revision of policies such as pre-existing conditions exclusions, waiting periods, and lifetime coverage limits.
- Maintain a robust and competitive private health insurance market and ensure that Americans who have insurance and like it can keep it.
Improving Patient Care
Any health care reform must center on promoting quality and patient-centered care. Realigning our health care system to better coordinate care, focus on prevention, and purchase value will empower patients, improve health outcomes, and help to contain costs. We must:
- Ensure a viable health workforce to meet demands of our aging population by improving access to health care education through scholarships and loan repayment programs.
- Allow consumers to hold providers of health care accountable for both cost and quality of care by promoting value-based purchasing and evidence-based benefits.
- Realign our health care system toward primary care, ensuring that patients have access to primary care physicians, patient-centered medical homes, and coordinated care for chronic conditions.