Published by: Lynne GO on 9/29/2010 4:40:47 PM
A recent health tracking poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that the public is still divided on health reform – with 49 percent favorable to 40 percent unfavorable, a split that has remained relatively consistent over the six months since health reform was enacted. The surprise in the poll was that 53 percent of the public says that they are confused about health reform – which is the highest level since last April. More than half of seniors mistakenly think health reform includes death panels or don’t know if it does!
As respected leaders in your communities, NAPH members are called upon to keep your communities informed about what health reform means to your patients, to your health care system, and to your community….
For the insured, health reform means a guarantee that you will keep insurance when you are sick, if you have a pre-existing condition, if you have children who are 26 or under, or if you are at a life-time cap. Many of these provisions went into effect on September 23 on the six-month anniversary of health reform.
For the uninsured, health reform means that affordable coverage is coming – in the form of high risk pools started up by your states this past July, in the form of Medicaid expansions now and in the future, and in the form of subsidies for private insurance in 2014. In the meantime, public hospital systems are taking care of these patients in their systems and a major community access point for people without insurance coverage now. It’s a chance to highlight how important public hospital systems are to these individuals!
For the health care system, health reform means higher quality care delivered in a more efficient and effective ways due to changes to the delivery system. Once again, this is a chance to highlight the major innovations that public hospital systems have underway to manage care more effectively and to keep their communities healthier. Medical homes, chronic care management programs, and moving toward integrated delivery systems are all innovations underway.
NAPH’s message campaign during health reform was “Health Reform Benefits Everyone” – a message that public hospital system leaders are called on to carry now when confusion about reform runs high in the country.