Historic Common Ground on Health Care Reform Reached by Diverse Group

An 18-member group including AARP, America's Health Insurance Plans, the Business Roundtable, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce unveiled last week a long-awaited consensus on health care reform principles. Two significant points of agreement from the groups: 1) Establish a nationwide floor for Medicaid eligibility for all adults no lower than 100 percent of the federal poverty level; 2) Provide subsidies to people who are ineligible for public programs. The group also agreed that the ultimate policy goal is to increase value for consumers and the system as a whole. Two groups originally part of the effort (SEIU and AFSCME) did not sign the document because a "public plan option" was not addressed.