House Committees Issue Health Reform Proposal Outline - 6/12/09

The three House committees working to develop health reform legislation—the Education & Labor, Energy & Commerce, and Ways & Means Committees—have issued a brief outline of the health reform legislation they are developing. According to the outline, the legislation will establish national and state health insurance exchanges through which private plans and a public plan option will be offered and require shared responsibility among individuals, employers, and government. It will provide sliding scale credits to low- and middle-income individuals, expand the Medicaid program and adopt innovative payment approaches to improve care coordination and reward quality care. Further, it will invest in prevention and wellness and health care workforce programs. A draft bill is expected to be finalized as early as the week of June 15, and the committees are expected to hold hearings on the bill later this month.