Members of a joint health care reform committee composed of personnel from UNMC, UNMC Physicians and The Nebraska Medical Center comment below on the health care bill passed Sunday night by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The bill stands to extend coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans and reform the private insurance market.
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“The House’s epical reform is a magnificent start, far-reaching yet incomplete, on providing affordable access to health care to nearly all Americans. The costs of continued failure are simply intolerable. A reshaped insurance market should become more competitive, eliminate hurtful exclusions, help small businesses cover employees and yet protect Medicare. The public must be patient while reform’s measures kick in. Citizens of all ages stand to benefit.” — John Benson, M.D., professor of internal medicine and chairman of the UNMC health care reform committee.
“The recent and ongoing events in Washington make it clear that the playing field upon which health care is administered is going to be greatly changed. I am confident that the stakeholders of health care will adopt and adapt to the provisions of the health care legislation and continue to make America a great place to receive and practice health care.” — James Gigantelli, M.D., professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences and otololaryngology.
“A number of provisions in the bill will benefit academic medical centers. The bill reauthorizes Title VII Health Professions Programs for primary care physicians, dentists and allied health professionals such as physician assistants — and the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development program, which provides important funding to help train more physicians and nurses to address the workforce shortages.” – Mark Bowen, director of UNMC Government Relations specialist
This is just a start. There are several very good provisions and some were left out. This will add more than 30 million patients to the roll of the insured and will eliminate preexisting conditions and stop discontinuation of insurance for illness. It extends Medicaid qualifications, and allows children to stay on their parent's policy until age 26. It does not adequately address cost controls that will have to be addressed later.
This is historical legislation. There are some provisions in the bill regarding insurance coverage that are favorable for patients/consumers. That being said, coverage does not guarantee appropriate access to care nor quality care. Moreover, the increased number of insured (estimated to approach 30-32 million persons) will almost certainly create increased demand for medical services. This will result in real access issues, especially for primary care services, by stressing the pre-existing healthcare workforce shortage, which is likely to get much worse in the near term. Of further concern is the real cost of this legislation to our country which is already deeply in debt. Health insurance premiums in the private sector will more than likely rise initially. Moreover, the expansion of Medicaid creates an unfunded mandate that states cannot afford. On another note, it is inconceivable to me that any major healthcare transformation doesn't include a robust public health service (which, for those who participate, could serve as a means to retire medical education debt), doesn't include any meaningful tort reform, and is without the backstop of a meaningful immigration policy that is enforced. Lastly, I am deeply concerned about the additional empowerment given to government to regulate the healthcare sector, inclusive of patients and providers.