Minnesota Medical Association: ACP Calls for Single Payer or Public Insurance Option as Path to Universal Coverage

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, Jan. 24 -- The Minnesota Medical Association issued the following news:

The American College of Physicians (ACP), the national specialty society for internal medicine physicians, called for either a single payer system or a public health insurance option that would compete with private insurance products as the two best paths for achieving universal coverage. The recommendations, released January 20, 2020, are part of a larger set of policy recommendations to reform the US health care system. Published as a supplement in Annals of Internal Medicine, "Better is Possible: The American College of Physicians Vision for the U.S. Health Care System," the recommendations are designed to advance the ACP's 10-point vision for health care reform:

* Everyone has coverage for and access to the care they need, at a cost they and the country can afford.

* Social factors that contribute to poor and inequitable health are addressed. Barriers to care for vulnerable and underserved populations are overcome, and no person is discriminated against based on personal identity characteristics.

* Payment and delivery systems put patient interests first, and support physicians and their care teams in delivering high value, patient centered care.

* Unnecessary administrative spending costs are redirected to funding health care coverage and research, public health, and interventions to address social determinants of health.

* Clinicians and hospitals deliver high value, evidence-based care within available resources, and the public and physicians are involved in determining priorities and allocating funding and resources.

* Primary care has equitable payment levels between complex cognitive care and procedural care, and payment systems support the value that internal medicine specialists bring to patient care.

* Financial incentives are aligned to achieve better patient outcomes, lower costs, and reduce inequities in health care.

* Inefficient administrative and billing tasks are removed, documentation requirements are simplified, payments and charges are more transparent and predictable, and delivery systems are redesigned to make it easier for patients to navigate and receive needed care conveniently and effectively.

* Value based payment programs support clinical care team collaboration and use only appropriately-attributed, evidence-based, and patient-centered measures.

* Health information technologies enhance the patient-physician relationship, facilitate communication across the care continuum, and support improvements in patient care.

Other recommendations call for broader use of global budgets and all-payer rate setting, as well as increases in primary care payment rates. David Hilden, MD, a Minneapolis physician and member of the ACP Board of Governors, served on one of two ACP policy committees that developed the recommendations. He noted, "The ACP's new vision imagines a future with true universal access at a price the nation can afford. It is a bold and visionary call to action that shouts 'Better is possible!'"

Like the ACP proposal, many states are exploring development of public insurance options as a strategy to expand affordable insurance coverage. The MMA is convening a policy forum on February 13 to examine the implications of such a proposal in Minnesota - raise your voice and join that conversation!