Progressive Agenda
Health Policy
Our values: Health, health security, safety, protection, quality of life
Our vision: Every American should be able to get the health care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. But for years, insurance companies charged too much, their policies were full of holes, and coverage was easily denied or revoked. The Affordable Care Act changed that, providing families with a new and greater measure of health security. There remains much to be done: (1) guarantee coverage to every American as a matter of right; (2) encourage healthy behavior and protect others from unhealthy behaviors; and (3) allow people to make their own health care choices.
Guarantee health care for all
The Supreme Court and the Trump Administration weakened the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which made it necessary for each state and locality to expand health care. One step, already employed by Maryland, is to create a study commission to recommend policies to help people become or remain insured, and to control costs. Those may include an easy enrollment system, reinsurance program, fair share disclosure, health enterprise zones, and a series of measures to lower prescription drug prices.
Encourage healthy behavior
Preventable behaviors such as tobacco use, poor diet and physical inactivity, and alcohol or other drug use are the underlying cause of half of the deaths in the United States. A progressive government encourages healthy behaviors while leaving ultimate decisions to the individual. The biggest preventable killer remains tobacco, which claims more than 480,000 victims every year. Jurisdictions can discourage smoking by raising the tobacco tax, implementing workplace smoking and e-cigarette bans, increasing the minimum age to purchase tobacco, and offering smoking cessation programs. States, localities and school boards can improve nutrition and physical fitness programs available in schools and also increase opportunities for athletics, walking and biking in communities. States and localities can raise alcohol taxes, crack down on sales to minors, and rethink whether their drug laws and enforcement systems are an efficient way to discourage the use of dangerous drugs.
Let people make their own health care choices
Too often, people who are sick or dying are not given choices that should be theirs to make. If a doctor thinks that a patient with glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, nausea from chemotherapy or chronic pain would benefit from medical marijuana, the patient should have that choice. If patients would benefit from palliative care, they should be told. And if a terminally ill person wants to have some control over the time of his or her own death, that should be their decision, not the government’s.
FEATURED POLICIES FOR 2024
Create express lane eligibility for health care
Many thousands of residents are eligible for the Medicaid or CHIP programs but are not enrolled. The Healthcare Express Lane Eligibility Act automatically enrolls those recipients of SNAP benefits who are eligible for health coverage.
Create a program for easy health care enrollment
In an average state, at least tens of thousands of residents qualify for free or reduced-cost health coverage but are not currently enrolled. Where there is a state income tax, residents can be automatically enrolled in heath programs based on the income they report. Maryland has led the way with such an “easy enrollment” program.
Create health enterprise zones
Health disparities exist in urban, suburban, and rural communities, and communities where significant health disparities exist also often face shortages in the primary health care workforce, including nurses. The Health Enterprise Zones Act enables localities and nonprofits to propose plans for underserved geographic areas where health care practitioners may receive incentives to improve access to and quality of health care.
Make prescription drugs more affordable
Americans are struggling to afford the prescription drugs they need, often having to choose between their medication and other necessities, like rent and groceries. States can respond by enacting the latest version of the Prescription Drug Affordability Act, which creates an independent body with the authority to evaluate high cost drugs and set a reasonable upper payment limit that applies to all purchasers and payer reimbursements.
Support a behavioral health hotline
In mid-2022, the federal government set up the phone number 988 as a national suicide hotline, but it is up to states to promote and staff the number. Some states are broadening the scope of that hotline to any behavioral health problem, not just suicide. The Behavioral Health Hotline Act will ensure that the 988 hotline is staffed and funded.
Protect residents from COVID-19
COVID-19 has killed more than three-quarters of a million Americans and more than five million people worldwide. The disease remains a public health emergency and governments have the obligation to protect their residents. The Protection from COVID-19 Act urges everyone to become vaccinated, directs health agencies to ensure that vaccine is accessible to all, and requires both elected officials and government employees to be vaccinated, with only narrowly-drawn exceptions.
Conduct an affordable care assessment
States and localities can follow the state of Maryland by creating a commission to recommend policies that strengthen coverage and lower healthcare costs.
Create a reinsurance program to lower costs
A few states have successfully stabilized health plan premium increases on their exchanges for individual plans by implementing a reinsurance program. Such a program, created by the Healthcare Reinsurance Act, pays catastrophic claims but requires a 1332 waiver from the federal government. Most recently, Maryland’s waiver was approved in August 2018.
Ban flavored tobacco and vape products
Massachusetts has enacted the most comprehensive ban on the sales of flavored tobacco products, including mint and menthol cigarettes and dozens of vape products. As the American Heart Association explains: “The tobacco industry uses [flavored products] to start kids on tobacco and addict them to nicotine. In fact…97 percent of youth e-cigarette users prefer flavored products.” A ban on flavored tobacco and vape products saves children’s lives.
End gag rules on pharmacists
Pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), on behalf of health insurance companies, often prohibit pharmacists from informing their customers about less expensive ways to pay for their medicines. Such contract provisions are unfair to both pharmacists and their patients. The No Gag Rule on Pharmacists Act prohibits health insurance companies and PBMs from using contracts to prevent pharmacists from telling their customers about cheaper ways to buy prescription drugs.
Restrict e-cigarettes
E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that mimic cigarettes. A heating element vaporizes a nicotine liquid, which is inhaled by the user. Both the benefits and risks of e-cigarettes are rather uncertain, but nicotine is certainly an addictive substance and some teenagers who were otherwise nonsmokers are using e-cigarettes. Nine states and more than 500 localities have specifically applied workplace smoking bans to e-cigarettes, in part because their safety is not established and because their use causes confusion as to where smoking is allowed.
End-of-life palliative care
All too often, terminally ill people are not provided adequate information about their physical condition or counseling about palliative care and end-of-life options. Too often they feel abandoned by the healthcare system and suffer unnecessary physical or psychological pain. People have a right to know when treatments offer only a tiny chance of prolonging their lives for a few weeks or months. And they have a right to know about palliative therapies which could make them feel a lot better for their remaining time. A few states now require healthcare providers to address the needs of the terminally ill. In New York, for example, when a disease is terminal and patients are unlikely to survive six months, doctors must inform them of this, and advise them of available medicines and treatments that comfort rather than cure. Palliative treatment can ease anxiety and pain, and can be administered at home, a hospice, or a specialized hospital unit. A good law also encourages the creation of interdisciplinary palliative care teams to provide medical, spiritual, psychological and practical support to patients and their families. And just incidentally, by eliminating medical procedures that patients don’t want, it also saves many millions of dollars.