The Future is Bright for Health Reform

Last week, I attended a panel organized by students at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute on the future of health reform with John Podesta of the Center for American Progress and moderated by Professor Judy Feder. Panelists agreed that last month’s election results were good for the future of the Affordable Care Act and the millions of people who will benefit from the law (see Joan Alker’s blog on the election). As we continue moving forward on implementation, more and more people will realize the value of the ACA and universal coverage. As John Podesta said, “Once it’s rooted, it will be very hard to uproot. I think people will begin to understand what the important components are that are valuable.”

But getting to universal coverage will first require states to expand their Medicaid programs, as prescribed by the ACA. Panelists were optimistic that all states would take up the expansion because state policymakers do not want to commit themselves to a less healthy population than that of neighboring states who do choose to expand. States should embrace the Medicaid expansion because it will provide coverage to the uninsured and improve their health—which means being more productive at work, doing better in school and raising the overall quality of life.

The overarching theme from the panel was that health reform is a “middle of the road” policy. It is intended to fill-in the gaps of the current health care system by offering the uninsured options for getting covered. But covering the large number of uninsured is no small accomplishment—and will likely be one of the most significant steps taken since the Great Society to reduce the effects of poverty.

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