The Universal Health Coverage Study: What will be studied?

There is no final decision about what will be studied at this time (April 2000). A Senate Office of Research panel of experts recently reviewed the study project and made recommendations about how it should proceed. The panel recommended that the finance options to be studied should be developed, in a very open process, by teams of experts and advocates of each option. Such a process would be responsive to the growing public interest in achieving universal coverage, would keep assumptions of research analysts realistic and engage the creative imagination of universal health coverage advocates.

The five options for achieving universal health coverage that have been recommended for investigation to date are:

1. The current system. The study would look at our current health care system, project it five years into the future and show us what it would look like if we made no changes.

2. An incremental package of reforms. The study would look at a number of incremental reforms which, taken together, would achieve universal coverage. There are proposals from E. Richard Brown and Helen Schauffler that might serve as a starting point for the discussions.

3. A market-based package of reforms. The study would look at such options as tax credits, vouchers, medical savings accounts and others, which, taken together, would achieve universal coverage. There are several existing proposals that might serve as the starting point for the discussions.

4. A single-payer system. The study would develop and look at a California-specific single payer plan. SB 2123 might serve as a starting point for the discussions.

5. A "hybrid" finance option. The study would take the strongest elements of the four other options and mold a plan which would achieve universal coverage.