Providing a united voice

for people with

chronic diseases and disabilities

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American People
 

Health Care Reform

Since the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the National Health Council (NHC) has identified the following priority areas on which to focus 

 

Essential Health Benefits 

PPACA includes language that directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a package of health care services that all qualified health plans must reimburse for their covered beneficiaries. This essential health benefits (EHB) package will serve as a baseline for insurance providers. The NHC is committed to ensuring that the Secretary develops a package that best meets the needs of people living with chronic diseases and disabilities. To that end, the NHC researched what the costs of a "typical" benefits package might be and developed recommendations and proposed regulatory language that it has shared with the Secretary’s staff. 

 

In February 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a final rule outlining policies that will give states flexibility to create an EHB package to meet local needs. 

 

In its continuing effort to provide a united voice for people with chronic diseases and disabilities, the NHC sent the following comments to Congress and the Administration: 

 

 

 

Health Care Reform Implementation

Through the work of its Health Care Reform Issue Team, the NHC created a list of Values to Ensure Patient-Focused Health Care Reform that guides its health care reform efforts.

 
On July 9, 2012, the National Health Council (NHC) held a briefing on the Supreme Court's decision upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Below are links to the video presentations. To view the presentation slides, please click here.

 

During the debate over health care reform, the NHC sent the following comments to Congress and the Administration: 

 

  

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Comparative Effectiveness

Comparative effectiveness research (CER) is the concept of evaluating evidence on the relative medical benefits and costs of various treatments to identify the most effective one for any given diagnosis. The NHC has advocated for conducting CER in a way that is transparent and involves input from the patient community during every step of the process. Furthermore, the NHC advocates for the scope of CER to expand beyond drugs and devices to include various delivery models. The health care reform package signed into law in March 2010 includes many of the provisions that the NHC had requested.

 

 

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Health Care Delivery System 

Each year, 7 out of 10 deaths in the U.S. are due to chronic diseases. Heart disease, cancer, and stroke account for more than half of all deaths each year. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, people with chronic conditions receive 56% of recommended preventive health services. Improving the quality and delivery of health just care will improve the quality of life for the more than 133 million people with chronic diseases and disabilities in this country.

 

To provide true value in health care, there must be a confluence of health research and personal circumstances, which include the patient's genetic, ethnic, religious, and social-economic status at the point of care. The marriage of health research with real-world application leads to improved health outcomes and helps us to curb costs responsibly. The NHC has developed a diagram that addresses the elements for getting the Right Care, at the Right Time, for the Right Patient, at the Right Price and has sent the comments to Congress and the Administration: 

  

 

To learn more about the NHC’s priority policy areas, please select one of the following issue areas:

 

Click here to read archived NHC letters of support and position statements.

 

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