One of the most difficult aspects of healthcare reform is figuring out how to balance cost controls with the imperative to deliver accessible care. Pragmatic healthcare reform should aim at achieving all three aims – reducing costs, improving quality and expanding access – without destabilizing coverage for 150 million people who have insurance today.
A good place to start is by putting consumers in charge of their own health care and ensuring that they get value for the premium dollars they pay. The Affordable Care Act does that through a variety of provisions such as ending annual dollar limits on the amount of care a consumer can receive, prohibiting discrimination against those with preexisting conditions and allowing parents to keep their children covered until they are 26 years old. The law also requires that all insurance plans cover evidence-based preventive services for free and strengthens rate review to increase insurer accountability and transparency.
New tools for consumer education are also being developed to help consumers navigate the complex healthcare system and its confusing health insurance options. These include personal health records and virtual consults that will enable patients to make informed choices about their healthcare providers and caregivers and provide extensive comparative performance data on them. This functionality can be further enhanced by direct patient e-connectivity with their chosen healthcare providers and care teams.
The ACA’s sweeping reforms will help to bring much needed stability to the nation’s health insurance markets and put Americans in control of their own health care. Unlike the ill-conceived proposals by the Trump administration to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, these reforms focus on strengthening coverage and promoting quality improvements.