Report Pushes Alternatives to Job-Based Health Care
The employer-sponsored health care system in the U.S. should be replaced by a consumer-driven system that offers more choices, expands coverage and reduces health care costs, according to a report released Monday by the Committee for Economic Development, the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal reports.
The report said employer-based health care coverage is failing "because of rapid cost increases and the inability to provide high-value care."
Robert Chess, trustee of the committee and co-chair of its health care subcommittee, said that the Federal Employees' Health Benefit Plan offers a "successful" model for a system in which the consumer has more options.
The report found that more employers are dropping or reducing health care coverage and that the employer-based system lacks competition.
The report makes several recommendations, including:
- Overhauling the health care system to ensure that all residents can afford and obtain quality coverage;
- Providing choices to individuals for insurance options that meet their needs, rather than forcing individuals to enroll in a specific plan; and
- Giving every household a fixed-dollar credit for purchasing low-cost, quality health insurance.
The committee includes as members more than 200 leaders from universities and businesses, including:
- American Express;
- Kaiser Permanente;
- Pfizer;
- Verizon;
- Wal-Mart; and
- Wells Fargo (Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, 10/15).