Establishes a national health insurance plan that would cover virtually all persons in the U.S. not covered under Medicare, and would provide supplementary benefits to Medicare beneficiaries.
Name of Program
No name.
Target population(s)
All individuals not covered under Medicare.
Eligibility
All individuals who have minimal earnings, and their dependents. Medicaid and other needy populations could be eligible for benefits provided the Trust Fund received sufficient funding from the states and the federal government. Medicare would coordinate with the new program so that Medicare beneficiaries would receive the entire combined benefit coverage.
Type of coverage
Services in the following classes would be covered: medical, dental, podiatric, home-nursing, hospital, and auxiliary (e.g., diagnostic tests, unusually expensive drugs, physiotherapy, eyeglasses, etc.) Covered services are further defined in the bill. Individuals would have free choice of provider from among those with an agreement to furnish services.
Premiums
There would be no premiums.
Government subsidies
Benefits would be fully subsidized.
Financing
Financing would come from a 5% value-added tax (VAT) on everything except food, housing and medical care. States would receive allotments from a new National Health Care Trust Fund. The amount of allotment would be determined on the basis of population, availability of health care resources, and reasonable costs of compensation to providers. The program would be overseen by a National Health Insurance Board.
Effective date
Benefits coverage would be effective October 1, 2010.
Administration
Would be administered by the states through local area and local professional committees.
Other provisions in bill
Includes establishment of a National Advisory Medical Policy Council and authorizes the Board to make grants for medical education and training. Also requires the Secretary to study and report to Congress by October 1, 2011 on methods to control costs under this Act, and to issue regulations to implement the recommendations no later than April 1, 2012.