Workforce Reforms / Human Capital
Among the strongest elements of America’s health care system are the education and training of health care professionals, world class technology and state of the art medical research. However, imbalances in that system require a more aggressive approach to expanding, balancing and improving the Health Care Workforce.
Approaches for reform could include:
Ø Incentives for states to amend scope of practice laws and adopt education standards and regulations as necessary to ensure optimal quality care
Ø Alignment of payments to better support the use of allied health professionals including physicians’ assistants and advanced practice nurses as part of coordinated care teams
Ø Reform of graduate medical education payments—allowing use in outside clinics for expanding interest in primary care and lifting of caps on residency slots
Ø Workforce development incentives related to chronic disease management, primary care and pediatric subspecialists
Ø Integration of delivery reforms into graduate medical/allied education
Ø Incentives for providers in underserved areas and increase racial and ethnic (linguistic/cultural) diversity of medical and allied health professions
Ø Equitably realigning Medicaid provider rates with Medicare rates in order to ensure an adequate supply of providers for underserved populations as reform takes effect.
While strengthening and balancing our workforce may require additional outlays, rather than yield immediate savings, improvements in workforce policy are prerequisites for many of the cost savings reforms supported by the Coalition.
From Rx for Reform
The National Coalition on Health Care's recommendations, based upon the consensus view of 85 member organizations, to make the system less complex, reduce overly high prices, and create a truly competitive health care marketplace. The goal of the paper is to augment the NCHC Principles and Specifications with a more detailed and selective set of policy recommendations on cost containment and quality improvement.
From Facts & Research
The Congressional Research Service recently released an updated report on the workforce and quality provisions contained in health reform legislation. In addition to the workforce and quality provisions, this report also highlights the public health provisions of reform, as well as other related provisions intended to improve access and quality of care. To read the full report, click here.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in a preliminary cost estimate released today, the revised Health Care Reform bill -- H.R. 4872, the Reconciliation Act of 2010 -- would cost $940 billion over 10 years and cut the federal deficit over the next two decades. If enacted it will reduce the deficit by about $130 billion in the first 10 years and by $1.2 trillion over the second 10 years. Reform also will expand coverage to 95 percent of Americans, according to the CBO figures. To read the full CBO report, click here.
The House Rules Committee posted the text of the final health reform bill, H.R. 4872 – the Reconciliation Act of 2010 – along with a section-by-section breakdown of the bill. To read the bill, click here.
In 2009, almost 82% of the uninsured lived in families with at least one employed head of household.
National Coalition on Health Care
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