Submitted by Armen Hareyan on Nov 14th, 2006
The unrelenting growth in medical expenditures, the continued erosion in private health insurance coverage, and a surge in the number of uninsured people have left Americans unsettled about their health care security. What do these trends mean for an aging population and an already strained employer-based health system? Have employers reached their tipping point as purchasers of health benefits? Does the public think the employment-based system should be scrapped? Will a new Congress step in to curb rising health costs?
These and other questions will be addressed by a panel of health care, public opinion, and employer experts at a Health Affairs briefing on Tuesday, November 14, where the findings of a new national poll exploring public views on the financing and provision of health insurance will be released. The poll, to appear Nov. 14 in a Health Affairs Web Exclusive, measures views on mandating health coverage and whether personal behavior should determine premium rates. The Nov-Dec issue of Health Affairs will be released at the briefing.
Health and business experts, including California HealthCare Foundation CEO Mark Smith and former GE health leader Francois de Brantes, will discuss whether today's employer-based health financing system is sustainable, what the implications are of the "graying" of those with group-based health insurance, and what options are available to employers in the face of continually rising medical costs.
The briefing is supported by the California HealthCare Foundation, which also supported the poll and the Nov-Dec issue.
Source:
Health Affairs 