Healthcare

New York State Health Foundation
National Position (LWVUS)
Resources
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Latest Update: April 12, 2012

Governor Cuomo Issues Executive Order Establishing Statewide Health Exchange

The Exchange will be entirely financed by the federal government and will be instrumental in establishing the first-ever comparative marketplace to bring down the cost of health insurance. By lowering the cost of insurance, the exchange will also help more than one million uninsured New Yorkers afford coverage. Read more...

New York State Health Foundation

Rising health care costs continue to put pressure on state budgets across the nation. Faced with this reality, New York State, which has the highest per capita expenditures on Medicaid and the third highest total health care costs (both public and private) per capita among states, is looking for ways to bolster efforts to contain costs.

As a result, the New York State Health Foundation provided a two-year grant to the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute Inc. in 2009. The objective of the grant is to establish partnerships with both commercial and public insurers across the state to launch two pilot tests for reimbursement using evidence-based case rates and analyze the potential savings this strategy will generate. Capital District Physcians Health Plan (CDPHP), HealthNow, MVP Health Care (leveraging the New York Quality Alliance database), along with Health Plus, Healthfirst have agreed to share their data to examine the potential for a pilot implementation. An evaluation of this pilot phase will provide State policymakers with information on where wasteful spending can be eliminated from the health care system and whether this payment strategy will motivate providers to offer high-quality care at a lower cost.

National Position (LWVUS)

The League believes that quality, affordable health care should be available to all U.S. residents. Other U.S. health care policy goals should include the equitable distribution of services, efficient and economical delivery of care, advancement of medical research and technology, and a reasonable total national expenditure level for health care. Furthermore, the League believes that all Americans should have access to a basic level of care that includes the prevention of disease, health promotion and education, primary care (including prenatal and reproductive health), acute care, long-term care and mental health care.

Through decades of work in their communities, League members have learned that Americans believe that fairness and responsibility, as well as access, are important values for any health care system. We believe that healthcare reform can only succeed if it takes all these values into account. In 1990, the LWVUS undertook a two-year study of the funding and delivery of health care in the United States. Phase 1 studied the delivery and policy goals of the U.S. health care system; Phase 2 focused on health care financing and administration. The LWVUS announced its initial health care position in April 1992 and the final position in April 1993.

Please tell your Senators not to repeal the Affordable Care Act and to stand firm in support of this law which extends coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.

Click here to read The League's Statement of Position on Health Care, as Announced by National Board, April 1993.

Resources

Health Care and You -- Understanding the Health Care Law
Confused about how the new health reform law really works? This short, animated movie -- featuring the "YouToons" -- explains the problems with the current health care system, the changes that are happening now, and the big changes coming in 2014.
http://healthreform.kff.org/the-animation.aspx
LWVUS article: "What is Driving the Rapid Rise in U.S. Health Care Costs?"
http://www.lwv.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Health_Care&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=13499
"Talking Points Memo - "Health Care Lawsuits" and other health care news"
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/health-care-lawsuits/2011/02/
LWVUS article: "Quick Facts on Health Care Costs"
http://www.lwv.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Health_Care&CONTENTID=13347&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm
"Timeline of the Affordable Care Act" and information for employers, seniors, young adults, people with disabilities, families with children, and individuals.
http://www.healthcare.gov/law/timeline/index.html