National Health Care Coverage

We call upon the federal government to take action to assure adequate and affordable accessible health care coverage for all individuals and families.

1. Universal Access

We seek a national health care plan that serves everyone living in the United States. Health care should not be employment dependent and should not exclude anyone with prior medical conditions.

1. Comprehensive Care

We seek a health care plan that provides comprehensive benefits for the whole population through:

1. Programs aimed at health promotion and risk reduction including:

• Prevention of illness and disability through pre and postnatal care, immunizations and epidemiologic services.

• Education of providers, families and Individuals about early symptom identification, appropriate use of health care services through risk assessment, public health materials and educational events.

• Early screening, diagnosis and treatment through physical examinations (inclusive of dental, eye and hearing care.)

• Comprehensive reproductive health services for men and women.

1. Availability of primary health care services particularly In rural areas and the inner cities.

1. Acute, chronic, ambulatory and institutional care including mental health care.

1. Long term care; rehabilitation that treats health problems, including services offered by health care providers in home settings, hospitals, clinics, extended care facilities, specialized nursing facilities, congregate settings and hospice care.

III. Choice of Health Care Providers

We seek a national health care plan that would permit individuals to exercise choice in the selection of physicians and other certified health care providers.

1. Equity, Efficiency and Quality

We seek a universal access national health plan that would provide services based on the principles of equity, efficiency and quality of output. The process of financing health care should be equitable, cost effective, easy to administer and to understand.

We seek a national health care plan that provides appropriate discipline for unprofessional acts by medical providers and provides appropriate recompense for injured patients.

1. Cost, Coverage, Financing

1. We seek a national health care plan that significantly reduces the rapid inflation in the costs of providing medical services.

1. The cost of participation should be fair, affordable and progressive, i.e. based on the ability to pay.

1. The agencies or commissions that establish benefits, standards of evaluation for the quality of health services, guidelines for medical practice, and the authorization and geographic location of appropriate service providers must include participation by consumers, health care workers and professionals, and appropriate government representatives.

1. Unnecessary duplication of services should be eliminated.

1. While in our view health care coverage provided by a single payer system is the best proposal to implement our goals we will also support a health care proposal that breaks the link to employment and provides for the most efficient, cost effective system of administration, without jeopardizing the quality of service; ensures universality of coverage, maximizes choice of provider for the consumer and does not place a greater burden for the costs of coverage on those who are less able to pay for it.

1. Health Care Providers

We seek a national health care plan that provides for the continuing education and training of health care workers.

The plan must provide for just compensation for all workers at all levels of the health care system.

VII. Innovation and Research

We seek a national health care plan that promotes effective and safe innovation and research in medical techniques, research on the delivery of health services, and research on health practices of individuals and families. Health research should include full study of all segments of the population including the particular health problems associated with a given group.

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