DES MOINES, Iowa--Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., unveiled a $110 billion health reform proposal on Monday that includes both individual and employer mandates, but also provides subsidies for low-income workers and tax credits for small businesses to help make the required coverage more affordable.
Sen. Clinton, whose attempts to overhaul the health care system while serving as First Lady were derailed in the early 1990s, unveiled her new "American Health Choices Plan" during a campaign stop at a hospital in Des Moines, Iowa.
"Here in America people are dying because they couldn't get the care they needed when they were sick," Sen. Clinton said during her speech. "It's time to provide quality affordable health care for every American. And I intend to be the president who accomplishes that goal finally for our country."
Sen. Clinton also took an offensive strike at her Republican opponents, many of whom were critics of her first foray into health reform.
"I know my Republican opponents will try to equate this plan with government-run health care. Well don't let them fool you again," she said, explaining that her plan would allow participants to retain their current doctors while expanding choice and keeping costs down.
Though employees already offered health insurance by their employers would have the option of keeping their existing coverage, the American Health Choice Plan would open to everyone in the United States the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program, which provides federal employees and members of Congress a menu of 240 plan options.
All of the plans that would be offered under the American Health Choice Plan would be required to cover preventive care services and chronic care management that experts deem to be proven and effective. In addition, the plan would fund a Best Practices Institute that would work as a partnership between the existing Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the private sector to research which treatments work best and to disseminate this information to patients and doctors.
Though large employers would be expected to provide health insurance to their employees or to make a contribution to the cost of coverage that workers purchase on their own, the amount of contribution will be based on a firm's size and average wages. The sum individuals would be required to pay would likewise be limited to a yet-to-be-determined percentage of income. Small businesses would be eligible to receive tax credits for up to 50% of the cost of coverage.
To ensure that everyone has access to coverage, the American Health Choice Plan would mandate guaranteed issue and automatic renewal by insurers and institute a form of modified community rating that would prohibit insurers from charging higher premiums based on age, gender, occupation or health status. The plan also would limit insurer and drug company profits.
Though the majority of the American Health Choices Plan is expected to be financed through savings created by the reforms it would institute, other funding would come from such initiatives as phasing out overpayments to Medicare health maintenance organizations and other managed care plans; eliminating the Bush administration tax cuts for the top two income tax brackets and increases in tax exemptions for households making more than $250,000; and limiting the tax exclusion for employer contributions to health benefits for households whose incomes exceed $250,000 annually.
The Hillary Clinton for President Campaign estimates savings generated by both reducing overpayments and tax breaks and instituting new efficiencies in the health care system would total $110 billion.
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