AN EXAMINATION OF THE WYDEN-BENNETT HEALTH REFORM PLAN

Key Issues in One Approach to Universal Coverage

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT) have introduced a bipartisan health reform plan that would restructure the U.S. health insurance system. The plan would replace much of employer-sponsored insurance over time and convert public programs like Medicaid and SCHIP into supplemental health insurance programs, while establishing new state-based insurance purchasing pools through which nearly all Americans would obtain private coverage.
An examination of the Wyden-Bennett plan by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finds numerous positive aspects, including the goal of achieving universal coverage and reliance on group health insurance rather than the flawed individual market. It also provides key lessons about the critical need for the plan (as well as for other health reform plans taking a similar approach) to better minimize adverse selection, protect access to care for low-income vulnerable populations now on Medicaid and SCHIP, and ensure affordability for low- and moderate-income individuals and families who are now uninsured.

See the Introduction and Executive Summary here
and the Full Report here.