What is the single largest problem facing the healthcare system today?

W: Mr. Anderson, thank you for joining us today.
M: My pleasure, thank you.
W: What is, in your organization’s view, the single largest problem facing the healthcare system today?
M: (1)It is the uncertainty for individuals as to whether or not they will be able to maintain their highchair coverage.
W: And when you describe all of those people you are putting in there,I presume the uninsured’?
M: Yes, the people who do not have coverage now absolutely need it. The nation should commit to a proposition that all individuals in our country ought to have highchair coverage. We proposed a strategy to do that, other organizations have adopted strategies to do it, and many of us have worked together to promote strategies.
W: We will, but let us first go to your organization’s remedy. It was rolled out in 2006; (2) it was a plan for broader coverage than what currently exists,mixture of private and public. Why don’t you explain more of it?
M: There are two aspects fundamentally to it. One is a commitment that the nation must make to repair the safety net, to address consistently across the country with respect to Medicaid eligibility.
W: From one state to the next would be the same?
M: At a minimum we need consistency and we do not have that now. So pure and simple in our view, anyone under 100-percent of federal poverty should have Medicaid eligibility.
W: Why do you put the threshold at 100-percent, below 100 percent of the federal poverty level? That is a fairly low threshold.
M: We could definitely talk about going a little higher, but some states are so far from that 100-percent now. So we are trying to propose something that would repair the safety net which would provide a foundation that could be consistent across the country. If there are resources to do more, we are certainly prepared to talk about that. This leads right into our second proposal that is to have refundable tax credits for working families so that from 100- percent to 400-percent of poverty on a sliding scale going up to $ 80,000, providing a helping hand for working families, to be able to afford highchair coverage.
W: This would capture many of the currently uninsured?
M: Yes. There are several ways to look at the uninsured. First, (3)we know there are 11 million people who are eligible for public programs that are not on the rolls, 11 million is a considerable number. Second, we know that 12 million people are offered coverage on the job and cannot afford to take it. So just the 11 million plus the 12 million, the combination of the safety net strategies plus addressing the problems of working families we think immediately would take care of that. (4) Middle income people who work generally for small employers are feeling the problems of losing insurance for employers not being able to provide it. If employers provide subsidies, that could go into the fund. If there are any other government programs that they are eligible for, that could go as well.
W: What do they use the fund for?
M: Any coverage they care to. It is not restricted to a particular type of program. SO we are going to spend a little more time talking about this with advocacy organizations (5) because the issue of portability is one that has been very frustrating for individuals who find themselves working for a number of employers and they don’t have that consistency of coverage.
W: Thank you very much for talking with us.
M: Thank you.