The Obama PlanCedric K. Dark, MD, MPH

Disclaimer: I’m not advocating for the plan, I’m just analyzing it...but you gotta admit...it’s a million times better than McCain’s

Scope of the Problem

• 47 million uninsured

• 9 million uninsured children

Rising Costs

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation

How To Fix It

National Health Plan

• Guaranteed enrollment

• Comprehensive benefits (similar to FEHBP)

• Fair premiums & minimal co-pays

• Subsidies

• Simplifying paperwork

• Easy enrollment

• Portability and choice

• Quality & efficiency

National Health Insurance Exchange

• A “watchdog” & reformer of private market (creates rules and standards)

• All plans must at least be as generous as “public plan”

• Guaranteed issue & no risk rating

Employers

• Pay or play philosophy

Children

• Mandated coverage

• Expansion of S-CHIP

States

• Can continue to experiment as long as provide plans at least as generous as “public plan”

Re-insurance

• Government to re-insure for “catastrophic” coverage

Quality• Comparative effectiveness

research

• Pay-for-performance

• Care coordination & disease management

• Disparities

• Health information technology ($10B/5yr)

Insurers

• Need more competition

Pharmaceuticals

• Drug reimportation

• Generics

• Negotiation of Medicare D Rx prices

Prevention & Public Health

• Healthier workplaces

• Tackle childhood obesity

• Support health care providers

Malpractice

• Will be improved...but how?

What’s Your Take...

• Who are the winners? Losers?

• What’s easy to accomplish? Hard?

• Short term goals? Long term?

References

• “Barack Obama’s Plan for a Healthier America.” 2008. Accessed from: www.barackobama.com

• Kaiser Family Foundation. “Employer Health Benefits 2006 Annual Survey” 2007. Accessed from: www.kff.org