Not many CEOs would wish for a massive upheaval in their industries. Georganne Chapin, president and CEO of Hudson Health
Plan (HHP), minces no words when she says the United States should transition to universal coverage, and HHP, a not-for-profit
managed-care Medicaid plan that covers 60,000 members in New York state, should evolve to play a new role.
Georganne Chapin, president and CEO of Hudson Health Plan (HHP)
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Universal coverage is inevitable, and it will happen sooner than many people realize, Chapin says. She believes the contrast
between the haves and the have nots is disturbing, and that the country's economy depends on everybody having continuous health
coverage, similar to Medicare, TRICARE and the Veteran's Administration.
"We don't need more programs; we need fewer programs that cover more people," she says. "We don't need more categories of
coverage or more limitations on the period of time people can be covered."
Clearly, Chapin is not alone in her belief that universal coverage—in some form—is coming of age in the United States.
- A national working group created by Congress reported in June that after approaching 50 communities and hearing from 23,000
people, it found that Americans want basic health coverage guaranteed by the federal government. The Citizens' Health Care
Working Group will present its strategy report to Congress in the fall, although it doesn't answer all the logistical questions
of creating universal coverage. Recommendations indicate that funding streams should be based on shared responsibility and
draw from enrollee contributions and various taxes.
- Also in June, the American Medical Assn. (AMA), the nation's largest physician group, voiced its support for mandated national
health coverage for those who can afford it and tax credits and subsidies for those who can't to enable them to purchase coverage.
This is the first time the AMA has endorsed universal healthcare.
- With other states eager to follow its lead, Massachusetts is still waiting for health plans to pitch affordable products to
ramp up for its 2007 coverage mandate. San Francisco recently approved legislation to cover all uninsured residents, an estimated
82,000 people.
Hot buttons
At a Glance
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Chapin wears a button that says, "Cover Everybody!" The buttons also are pinned on anything and everything in her office at
HHP headquarters in Tarrytown, N.Y. This word-of-mouth awareness effort was developed under an HHP division called the Hudson
Center for Health Equity & Quality (Hcheq) that promotes the delivery of quality care for all. The Cover Everybody Web site
gathers news and resources regarding universal coverage and offers buttons like Chapin's to anyone who would like to promote
awareness.
"We jokingly call it the 'cult of Cover Everybody,' but it's hardly a cult, and it's hardly radical," she says. "I think it's
amazing that this is considered a radical concept when most of the world covers everybody, and everybody needs to be covered."
She says continuous universal coverage is needed—not just more programs to cover the uninsured—because the longer the United
States goes without it, the more likely the country's economy will implode. While the working poor represent many of the uninsured,
an increasing segment of middle-class America has joined the ranks. Americans who contribute to society, such as entrepreneurs,
freelance writers, artists and small-business owners, for example, are changing not just their lines of work but their lives
specifically because they can't afford the health coverage they need. Even short coverage gaps for those who are changing
jobs or moving can result in health decline and higher associated costs.
