The document summarizes the current landscape for health care reform in the United States. It discusses the prospects for reform given Democratic control of Congress and the White House as well as the economic crisis. However, it also notes challenges like a split public and the need to control costs long term. The document advocates for a blended policy approach that combines expanding access through mechanisms like subsidies, exchanges and Medicaid expansion, while also implementing reforms to curb cost growth and improve quality, such as payment reform, health IT and establishing best practices.

1. Health Care Reform: Go Bold, Tread Carefully or Make It Worse? The Capstone Conference: Fresh-Thinking on Health Care Reform Leonard D. Schaeffer Judge Robert Maclay Widney Chair and Professor , University of Southern California May 14, 2009 Stanford University Quadrus Conference Center Menlo Park, CA May 14 , 2009

8. Patients do not receive care in accordance with best practices Patients receive care in accordance with best practices 45 %* 55 % Percent of Recommended Care Received 64.7% Hypertension 63.9% Congestive Heart Failure 53.9% Colorectal cancer 53.5% Asthma 45.4% Diabetes 39.0% Pneumonia 22.8% Hip Fracture Source: Elizabeth McGlynn et al., RAND, 2003; Elizabeth McGlynn et al., RAND, 2007 Room To Improve: Evidence-based Care * Even worse for children: A 2007 RAND study found 53.5% of children do not receive appropriate care “ Nearly one-half of physician care is not based on best practices.”

9. Source: Baicker and Chandra, “Medicare Spending, The Physician Workforce, And Beneficiaries’ Quality of Care,” Health Affairs Web Exclusive, April 7, 2004. Room To Improve: Cost and Quality “ Higher spending is associated with lower quality of care.”

10. References: Preliminary analysis of the President’s Budget and Update of CBO’s Budget and Economic Outlook , March 2009; see also “Budget Gap Is Revised to Surpass $1.8 Trillion,” New York Times , May 12, 2009 Projected Deficit includes: The cost of taking over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac The net cost of transactions under TARP The impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act $400 $200 $0 ($200) ($400) ($600) ($800) ($1,000) ($1,200) ($1,400) 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2009 $185 B $180 B $238 B ($1,600) ($1,800) ($2,000) What’s Different Now? 2009 Deficit at $1.84 Trillion = 12.9% GDP

12. Source: The Long-Term Outlook for Health Care Spending, November 2007, Congressional Budget Office Note: Amounts for Medicare are net of beneficiaries’ premiums. Amounts for Medicaid are federal spending only . Projected Spending on Health Care as a Percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Percent of GDP) 2007 2012 2017 2022 2027 2032 2037 2042 2047 2052 2057 2062 2067 2072 2077 2082 All Other Health Care (includes private, state and local, and other federal) Medicaid Medicare 49%GDP 16% GDP What’s The Same? Rising Health Care Costs Significant Threat To Economy 32% GDP 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

17. Short-Term: Public Split On Paying More Would you be willing to pay more– either in higher health insurance premiums or higher taxes– in order to increase the number of Americans who have health insurance, or not? Source: Kaiser Family Foundation / Harvard School of Public Health, The Public’s Health Care Agenda for the New President and Congress, Chartpack, January, 2009 (Don’t Know/Refused responses not included) No Yes 48% 52% 49% 49% 42% 51% 58% 49% 47% 47% 46% 39% 46% 52% 45% 39% 47% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 1991 1996 1998 1999 2000 2003 2004 2007 2008 47%

23. Big Risk : Economic crisis drives coverage expansion; future deficit crisis brings bigger cuts Source: Congressional Budget Office, “The Long-Term Budget Outlook,” December 2005 Assumptions: excess cost growth of 2.5% for both Medicare and Medicaid; Social Security benefits paid as scheduled under current law. Long-term Revenue 18.4%