Ten Small-Scale Reforms for Pre-Existing Conditions


 

Publication Date: February 2010

Publisher: National Center for Policy Analysis (U.S.)

Author(s): John Goodman

Research Area: Government; Health

Keywords: health; reform

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

Most proposals for dealing with the problems of pre-existing conditions would completely divorce health insurance premiums from expected health care costs, requiring health plans to enroll individuals regardless of their health status. Yet a policy of trying to force health plans to take enrollees they do not want risks jeopardizing the quality of care they receive.
Instead of suppressing the price system, following are 10 ways of dealing with this problem that make greater use of it. In a reformed health care system, the chronically ill - along with their doctors, employers and insurers - should find lower-cost, higher-quality, more-accessible care in their economic self-interest.