Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Max Baucus (D-MT) have released new policy options for financing health care reform. A press release says the Senators' new policy options is the third and final of their health care reform policy proposals prior to legislation preparation in June. Previously, the Committee has released policies for reducing costs of health care and for expanding health care coverage in the United States. In this new policy options report, there are three potential funding sources proposed:

--Savings from reductions in spending--this includes ensuring appropriate payments in Medicare and Medicaid, i.e. adjusting payments for "potentially overvalued" services including imaging and minor procedures, and reducing geographic variation in spending;

--Reevaluation of current health tax subsidies-this includes modifying health savings accounts, modifying or eliminating flexible spending accounts and making tax exclusion for employer-provided health insurance more equitable;

--Changing non-health tax provisions-this includes a "lifestyle" tax on alcoholic beverages and sugar-sweetened beverages.

The senators are holding a meeting of Finance Committee members to discuss these financing policy options on Wednesday. "Health care reform must preserve the things Americans like about our health care system," said Senator Baucus in the press release. "But it must also begin to slow the rapid increases in health care costs that take up more and more of the budget for American families and businesses. Reforming the system will likely require an upfront investment, but I'm confident it will pay dividends in the future for our health, our economic competitiveness, and our federal budget. The bottom line is that we can't afford not to act. Without health care reform, health care spending will reach 4.4 trillion by 2018. These policies lay out a wide variety of options for making that investment, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to determine the best way forward."

"Everybody agrees we spend too much money on health care, especially to have 46 million uninsured people," Senator Grassley stated in the press release. "The policy options are meant to bring current spending under control and also help cover the uninsured and make coverage more secure for the people who already have it."

The complete text of the policy options can be accessed at:

http://www.finance.senate.gov/sitepages/leg/LEG%202009/051809%20Health%20Care%20Description%20of%20Policy%20Options.pdf.

The public is invited to comment by email Health_Reform@financedem.senate.gov with a deadline of May 26, 2009.

Adapted from a press release by the Senate Finance Committee.

More Industry Headlines