Richardson on Health Care

Richardson Health Plan Executive Summary

Affordable and secure health coverage for every American should be our national goal. America's core values of opportunity and security demand no less. By covering all Americans, Bill Richardson's plan would save the average family up to 10% off their private coverage.

Bill Richardson's health care plan will focus on the three critical areas of coverage, cost, and care, to reach the goal of affordable coverage for all Americans:

• Coverage: Guaranteed Coverage for All Americans With Real Choices.
  
• Costs: Making Health Care Affordable for All.
  
• Care: Improving the Quality of Care.

1. Coverage: Guaranteed coverage for all Americans with real choices.

Bill Richardson believes that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to providing this affordable health coverage for all Americans. Nor does he believe in creating new bureaucracies. Under Richardson's plan:

• All Americans will have the choice to keep their current coverage if they are satisfied with it.
  
• Americans will have affordable coverage choices through
  
  1. the same plan as members of Congress;
  2. Medicare for those 55-64;
  3. Medicaid and SCHIP for lower income families;
  4. existing family coverage for young adults up to age 25; and
  5. a Heroes Health Card and stronger Veterans Administration for veterans.
• Insurance companies will be required to end unfair coverage denials due to pre-existing conditions.

2. Costs: Making Health Care Affordable for All

A. Affordable Coverage through Shared Responsibility

Under Richardson's plan: 1) All Americans will have personal responsibility for obtaining coverage, 2) Employers will be required to do their fair share to contribute to a healthy and covered work force; 3) A sliding-scale tax credit will be available for Americans who need help affording coverage; 4) American families will get immediate relief from high interest rates for medical debt placed on credit cards.

B. Overall Cost Savings for a Balanced Budget Health Plan

Bill Richardson's health care plan to achieve affordable coverage for all will cost an estimated $104-110 billion per year. As President, Richardson will save the government up to $110 billion per year to invest in quality, affordable health coverage for all Americans, by:

• Streamlining health care administration, including:
  
  1. Investing in health information technology through 21st Century Health Care Bonds, saving $22 billion per year;
  2. Negotiating prescription drug prices through Medicare and allowing seniors to buy prescriptions directly from Medicare, saving $34 billion per year;
  3. Eliminating the tax shelter for high-risk health plans, saving $3 billion per year;
  4. Placing cost controls on insurance companies so they spend at least 85% of their revenue on direct health care rather than administration;
  5. Requiring insurance companies and providers to standardize their forms;
  6. Simplifying reporting requirements for physicians and hospitals;
  7. Improving coordination of care and reducing bureaucracy for millions of seniors and persons with disabilities enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid; and
  8. Limiting overpayments to private Medicare Advantage Plans.
• Investing in Prevention, including:
  1. Paying for up-front coverage now to avoid emergency care later, saving $9 billion per year;
  2. Promoting coordinated care and disease management, saving $38 billion per year;
  3. Increasing the use of generic drugs, saving $5 billion per year;
  4. Requiring that all health plans cover a standard set of proven preventive services;
  5. Supporting local, state, and regional efforts to prevent and manage chronic diseases;
  6. Providing incentives to businesses to invest in their employees' health;
  7. Asking the American people to do what they can within their own lives to help stem the tide of chronic diseases;
  8. Instituting a nationwide ban on smoking in workplaces; and
  9. Preparing for natural and man-made disasters.

3. Care: Improving Quality of Care for all Americans

Bill Richardson believes that all Americans deserve access to affordable, high-quality health care. Richardson will work to improve quality of care for all Americans by:

1. Promoting evidence-based care and comparative effectiveness research;
2. Promoting transparency on price and quality of health care;
3. Restructuring incentives for high-quality care;
4. Improving patient safety;
5. Ensuring an adequate health care workforce; and
6. Reducing health disparities.