02/ 11/ 2008
NFIB put policymakers on notice recently by releasing a set of principles to provide a foundation for national health care reform that works for small-business people. NFIB President and CEO Todd Stottlemyer unveiled the principles, plus details about upcoming research at a press conference in Washington, gaining national attention for NFIB's efforts and influence in the debate.
In one instance, the Los Angeles Times noted, "The verdict of small-business owners could lift or sink the next president's health care reform plan. They [NFIB] have a grass-roots network in every congressional district in the country. And in 1994, opposition from the National Federation of Independent Business, their chief lobbying group, played a pivotal role in scuttling then-President Clinton's health plan."
Small-Business Principles
Our current system of health insurance and health care is financially unsustainable and threatens the health and financial security of the American people. Small-business owners and their employees are especially vulnerable to the weaknesses of our current system. NFIB supports policy reforms to balance the competing goals of access to quality care, affordability, predictability and consumer choice. The resulting health care system would be:
Universal: All Americans should have access to quality care and protection against catastrophic costs. A government safety net should enable the neediest to obtain coverage. This does not mean a government-run, single-payer system.
Private: To the greatest extent possible, Americans should receive their health insurance and health care through the private sector. Care must be taken to minimize the extent to which governmental safety nets crowd out private insurance and care.
Affordable: Health care costs to individuals, providers, governments and businesses must be reasonable, predictable and controllable.
Unbiased: Health care and tax laws should not push Americans into employer-provided or government-provided insurance programs and hobble the market for individually purchased policies. Small employers should be treated the same as large employers, who can already pool across state lines. A health care system built on employer mandates or on play-or-pay taxes is unacceptable.
Competitive: Consumers should have many choices among insurers and providers. Policymakers must alleviate the limitations that state boundaries and treatment mandates place on competitiveness.
Portable: Americans should be able to move throughout the United States and change jobs without losing their health insurance.
Transparent: Information technology should enable all parties to access accurate, user-friendly information on costs, quality and outcomes. Providers must be able to obtain relatively complete medical histories of patients. At the same time, patients' privacy must be guarded zealously. The private sector must play a vital role in developing the new technologies.
Efficient: Health care policy should encourage an appropriate level of spending on health care. Laws, regulations and insurance arrangements should direct health care spending to those goods and services that will maximize health. Adequate risk pools throughout the health care system are vital to accomplishing these goals.
Evidence-based: The health care system must encourage consumers and providers to accumulate evidence and to use that evidence to improve health. Appropriate treatment choices and better wellness and preventive care should be key outcomes.
Realistic: Health care reform should proceed as rapidly as possible, but not so quickly that firms and individuals cannot adjust prudently. It is important to ensure that no one's quality of care suffers as we move to provide coverage for all Americans.
To learn more about NFIB's efforts to improve access to quality, affordable health care, visit www.NFIB.com/healthcare.
