B’nai B’rith International’s “Healthcare Repair Initiative” outlines our carefully considered principles for reform. In the coming weeks we will be evaluating proposals from Congress and the administration against this simple set of principles, which include: healthcare insurance for everyone so risk is pooled; affordable premiums and cost-sharing; and long-term services provisions. We also seek policies that are: politically possible; fiscally feasible; and fundamentally fair. In the coming months B’nai B’rith will use these principles to further the discussion about healthcare reform and to evaluate policy proposals.

“We recognize the daunting reality of reforming our healthcare system,” said BBI’s Director of Aging Policy Rachel Goldberg, Ph.D. “But the magnitude of the job cannot serve as an impediment to making the changes so urgently needed.”

Accessibility is key. “Healthcare reform must make real insurance affordable for everyone,” said BBI’s Associate Executive Vice President Mark Olshan, Ph.D. This means that the coverage itself, as well as the copayments, must be affordable, and the coverage must be relatively comprehensive. President Obama has announced he shares this principle and will work with Congress on a detailed plan.

B’nai B’rith also believes that any plan must consider the implications of long-term services and support, which are rarely covered by health insurance. BBI solidly agrees with the president that any healthcare reform proposals must include details on the mechanisms, or “pay-fors,” that will be used to cover the costs of reform. Healthcare reform must be fairly and adequately funded to be successful. Much of the money in the president’s plan comes from ending overpayments to private plans in Medicare, a move which B’nai B’rith has supported.

Other “pay-fors” are potentially more troubling. The president has proposed raising money for healthcare for all by increasing costs in Medicare Part D (the drug plan) for seniors with higher incomes. Only in the last few years has Medicare had means testing for any of its premiums, and the trend could prove to be problematic. However, we will not reject these potentially troubling strategies, because we may need to make some concessions to achieve true healthcare reform.

B’nai B’rith fully recognizes that tackling healthcare reform is an enormous undertaking. We will continue to press for a plan that best meets our critical core principles of reform and the needs of the American public.