IPPF Advocacy Partners Weigh in on Health Care Reform

In our continuing effort to provide a united voice for people with chronic diseases and disabilities, today the National Health Council submitted comments to the Senate Finance Committee in response to their recent Policy Options paper “Transforming the Health Care Delivery System: Proposals to Improve Patient Care and Reduce Health Care Costs.”

In responding, the NHC voiced its strong support of the Senate Finance Committee’s work to enact meaningful health care reform in this Congress and strove to advance the common message of NHC member organizations by Supporting The Five Principles For Health Care Reform:

• Cover Everyone
• Curb Costs Responsibly
• Abolish Exclusions of Pre-Existing Conditions
• Eliminate Lifetime Caps
• Ensure Respect at the End of Life

Many of the policy changes supported by the Five Principles were addressed in the Policy Options paper. Our comments build upon those proposals by strongly encouraging Congress to also address long-term support and services. We also addressed areas of the paper where the Committee’s efforts to improve patient care could be advanced by expanding care management options and eliminating or reducing out-of-pocket expenses for people with chronic conditions.

As envisioned by the Institute of Medicine, the ideal of any health care delivery system is to get “the right care at the right time to the right patient.” Ultimately, our suggestions aim to achieve the core objectives of the patient community by putting patients first and reforming our care delivery system to realize that ideal.

Thanks,
Nathan

Attachments:
•National Health Council Comments

Transforming the Health Care Delivery System


Nathan Vafaie
Manager, Federal Government Relations

The mission of the National Health Council
is to provide a united voice for people
with chronic diseases and disabilities.