FINDING RESOURCES FOR HEALTH REFORM AND BENDING THE HEALTH CARE COST CURVE

ABSTRACT: President Obama has made health reform a top priority for the nation. In addition to the initial investments enacted in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the president has included a $634 billion health reform reserve fund in his 2010 budget as a downpayment on health reform, leaving the legislative details to Congress. Comprehensive reform will likely require an investment of $1 trillion or more over the 2010–19 period to achieve coverage for all and implement critical system reforms. This report examines policy options that could slow growth in health spending, improve health outcomes, and provide additional revenues to finance comprehensive reform. It also illustrates how widely estimates of policy options can vary based on underlying assumptions. The rich menu of options presented here, along with impact estimates, should help policy leaders identify the resources required to make health coverage for all and improved health system performance a reality. Support for this research was provided by The Commonwealth Fund. The views presented here are those of the authors and not necessarily those of The Commonwealth Fund or its directors, officers, or staff. To learn more about new publications when they become available, visit the Fund’s We