Z S's List: Healthcare

• counterproductive trade-off -- saving pennies today with policies that will drive increased costs tomorrow.
• basic, minimum set of benefits is important in protecting population health
• provision affecting insurance coverage of prescription drugs
• patients with cancer, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, mental illness and other serious conditions
• insurers will be allowed to limit coverage to as few as two prescription drugs
• save money by limiting patient access to those medications that are the least costly
• physicians often have to prescribe different medications to their patients until they find the one that gets optimal results
• By so severely limiting insurance coverage of prescription drugs, the federal government is essentially tying the hands of doctors
• This is the wrong way to curb health care spending increases.
• heavy price to be paid in terms of increased hospital admissions, emergency room visits, unemployment and loss of productivity.
• Cost containment, if done correctly, will focus on wellness, disease prevention and keeping chronically ill patients healthier
• pharmaceutical spending represents a very small portion of overall health care costs
• effective use of medications remains one of our essential tools in combating the chronic diseases that eat up 80 cents of every health care dollar
• good model to follow is the Medicare Part D
• Medicare is saving $1,200 per year per patient in reduced hospital and skilled nursing costs
• Part D beneficiaries are staying healthier.
• prioritizing real health and real long-term savings over making today's numbers add up to CBO's satisfaction

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