A recent survey from The Commonwealth Fund shows two-thirds of health care professionals think expanding health coverage and improving quality and efficiency, as well as controlling costs, are important - so much so that President Obama should focus on those goals simultaneously.
The survey found industry professionals were most concerned about expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program -- which 83 percent of respondents said was absolutely essential or very important; using the economic stimulus to invest in health information technology (78 percent); and providing public health insurance to the long-term unemployed (72 percent).
Respondents were overwhelmingly in favor of using a health insurance exchange to provide coverage for the uninsured (92 percent). They also favored expanding eligibility for Medicaid and SCHIP (89 percent), and recognized such a move was a high priority and should be addressed before other reforms (82 percent), such as funding health information technology (76 percent).
Respondents showed wide support for Obama's reforms:
- 86 percent support implementing federal insurance market rules such as guaranteed issue and community rating that would help ensure access to affordable coverage for those with health conditions.
- 81 percent support an employer "play or pay" requirement for employers to either offer coverage or pay a percent of payroll to help finance expanded coverage.
- 71 percent said allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, increasing the number of primary care providers, and moving away from fee-for-service toward global fees or episode of care payments would be effective or very effective ways to control costs.
- 60 percent said that COBRA premium assistance for recently unemployed workers was a very important or absolutely essential feature of an economic stimulus package; 35 percent felt the same way about increased NIH funding.
