public/private system with what is being offered today...thanks for posting the link.
:)
http://www.ourfuture.org/files/documents/evolution-of-the-healthcare-debate.pdfStatements on the Hacker plan...now many of the same people back a plan that has been significantly watered down from the original idea.
"When private insurers were unwilling or unable to provide affordable health care coverage to millions of older Americans, Congress enacted Medicare, which has provided a cost-effective guarantee of affordable coverage for more than 40 years. Because private insurers are unwilling or unable to provide affordable health coverage to millions of working families today, Jacob Hacker proposes Health Care for America, a public program to answer their need as well as the need of millions of others who are anxiously insured. Health Care for America provides a simple cost-effective solution to guarantee all Americans access to affordable care: The choice of lifetime coverage through a public program with a large risk pool."
-- Diane Archer, founder, Medicare Rights Center
"Health Care for America is a bold, thoughtful and achievable proposal for bringing the guarantee of affordable health care to every American. This plan is especially important because it provides solutions to the high cost of health care. I want to thank the Economic Policy Institute, Campaign for America's Future, and, in particular, Jacob Hacker for this initiative and for their leadership. Our nation's health care crisis is hurting businesses and families, the uninsured and the insured, patients and those who care for them. From California to Maine, states are beginning to respond to the challenge. It is time for Congress to act, and Health Care for America helps point the way."
-- Rep. Jan Shakowsky, D-Ill.
"Jacob Hacker's proposal for a hybrid form of universal health insurance is a splendid way to press for a sensible debate over what reform of universal coverage can balance the need for health security and social affordability."
-- Ted Marmor, author of The Politics of Medicare
"Jacob Hacker's 'Health Care for America' plan is an innovative, common- sense approach to reform that deserves the careful consideration of policymakers. His proposal builds on the foundation of employer-sponsored health insurance-the system by which most Americans derive their coverage-to create a new system of affordable coverage for all. The Hacker plan presents us with an important opportunity to begin a serious dialogue about how to achieve meaningful health care reform in America. To date, our failure of initiative and imagination on this issue has created a shameless legacy of economic instability and needless suffering across this country. We cannot afford to wait another day to tackle the most serious problem of our generation."
-- Gerald W. McEntee, president of AFSCME
"The Health Care for America plan is a common-sense proposal that offers promising opportunities to guarantee health care for all Americans. With many new ideas emerging on comprehensive health care reform, this proposal presents another viable option that demonstrates the kind of bold thinking and leadership we need in order to find real solutions to the health care crisis. This proposal acknowledges that employment-based health care is economically inefficient for today's global economy. It builds upon existing programs that are effective, while guaranteeing affordable coverage for at-risk populations, flexible choices, and premiums that work to eliminate economic and social disparities."
-- Andy Stern, President of SEIU, the Service Employees International Union