Pepper Commission Report: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred First Congress, Second Session on Recommendations of the Pepper Commission Regarding a Public Program for Long-term Care Services, June 14, 1990, Part 2

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Page 126 - Expenses of occasional public service efforts may be met, in part, by nonrestrictive, noncommercial contributions, grants and fees. In addition to reports on Consumers Union's own product testing, Consumer Reports.
Page 91 - Given today's fiscal realities and competing national priorities, we cannot expect the public sector to continue to take on such an enormous and unwieldy financial responsibility. Instead, HIAA believes that public policy should be targeted toward finding ways to more effectively use the private resources already being spent for this care, thereby reducing future public long term care expenditures. Those who can afford to protect themselves should be encouraged to do so. It is not the role of government...
Page 89 - He will see a continued trend toward more comprehensive and liberal benefit provisions as the market place becomes more competitive. The recent introduction of employer-sponsored plans is particularly promising. These employee pay-all plans offer the opportunity to reach a large number of people efficiently during their working years when premiums are more affordable. Coverage in the workplace offers the additional advantage of employers selecting the best plan at the best price for their employees.
Page 171 - ... risk. Public opinion surveys show widespread public support for using the Social Security wage tax to fund long-term care, even by those individuals who would be paying the higher tax. Those considerations must be weighed against future projections for solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund, however. Social Security taxes could be augmented by other taxes, such as the surtax on gifts or inheritance transfers. We suggest consideration of a sliding scale on all such income transfers, with no exclusions....
Page 18 - All individuals have a right to high health care. The health care system should collect, analyze, and disseminate information about provider performance, health care outcomes, and the appropriateness and effectiveness of health care services. Quality assurance programs, such as peer review and professional licensure. should be strengthened and coordinated. 4. All individuals should have a reasonable choke of health care providers.
Page 19 - Burdensome cost-sharing requirements (eg, burdensome deductibles and coinsurance) should be avoided because they disproportionately affect the sick and the poor. The public, through the federal and state governments, should subsidize the cost of health care coverage for individuals with lower incomes and should fully finance health care coverage for the poor. Any financing method should preserve the dignity of the individual, regardless of his or her income level.
Page 129 - Policyholders who drop their policy, perhaps to buy a better policy, are typically out of luck. We believe that policyholders who drop their policy after a certain amount of years of paying premiums should be eligible for some sort of compensation (eg . a cash refund or a reduced benefit) , since early year premiums are used to subsidize later year risks. The private market is not well suited to insuring the longterm care needs of people under age 65.
Page 133 - Administrative costs should be minimized; Cost-sharing should be an integral part of the program, but should not impose undue hardship...
Page 147 - It reinforces and supplements the care provided by family members and friends and maintains the recipient's dignity and independence, qualities that are all too often lost in even the best institutions.
Page 193 - STATEMENT OF HON. DAVID DREIER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA Mr.

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