Email Alert
November 12, 2008
The Healthcare Reform Educational Task Force is pleased to provide you with a report titled "Call to Action: Health Reform 2009," issued today by Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT). Senator Baucus proposes a detailed universal health coverage plan. The plan includes provisions to:
- Require employers of a certain size to offer health insurance for workers or pay into a federal insurance fund;
- Provide tax credits for small businesses that provide health coverage, and individuals and families who purchase insurance on the private market;
- Establish a national health insurance exchange, similar to one proposed by President-Elect Barack Obama, to allow consumers to compare and purchase policies from a menu of private plans, as well as a new public plan similar to Medicare;
- Prohibit insurers from denying coverage or charging different premiums based pre-existing health conditions;
- Permit people ages 55 to 64 who do not have access to public or group coverage to buy into Medicare;
- Make Medicaid available to everyone with incomes below the federal poverty level; and
- Expand eligibility for the State Children's Health Insurance Program to all uninsured children in families with incomes up to 250% of the poverty level.
To hear more about Senator Baucus' proposal for healthcare reform, please join us on Friday, November 21 from 1-2:30 pm Eastern for our next AHLA teleconference regarding healthcare reform. One of the presenters will be Senator Baucus' advisor on health policy, Yvette Fontenot.
For more information, and to register, please go online.