The American Heart Association last week joined the call for comprehensive health care reform that results in universal insurance coverage, warning that without it, “recent progress in reducing the prevalence of heart disease and stroke could be erased.”
The group unveiled its policy agenda at an event last Monday. Officials said they planned to present a plan to members of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and other lawmakers, working with the American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society.
The AHA’s priorities, they said, are reforms that promote effective prevention strategies, adequate and affordable coverage, and delivery system reforms that promote high quality and cost-effective cardiovascular care.
“We have a responsibility to urge lawmakers about the issues that concern our patients, particularly as they confront their health care challenges in this tough economic climate,” said Timothy Gardner, president of the association. “Time is not on our side.”
In a news release, the AHA noted that as the baby boomers age, heart disease is projected to increase by 16 percent each decade, and deaths from stroke are projected to nearly double between 2000 and 2032. Cardiovascular disease is projected to cost $475 billion in medical expenses and lost productivity in 2009, making it the most costly disease.
Along with system reforms, the association said it wants to push for more National Institutes of Health funding for heart research. Last year, only 4 percent of NIH funds went to that field, and less than 1 percent to stroke research.
“These disproportionately low levels of funding for the No. 1 and No. 3 causes of death will severely limit efforts to find new ways to prevent cardiovascular disease and reduce death and disability among heart disease and stroke victims,” the AHA said.
On the insurance front, the AHA noted that about 15 percent of non-elderly adults who report having cardiovascular disease are uninsured, and they are “far less likely than their insured counterparts to receive appropriate and timely medical care,” so they suffer worse outcomes.
The association called for reforms that “would prevent discrimination based on pre-existing conditions,” adding that the best way to achieve them was “through an individual mandate with appropriate premium subsidies for those who need them.” The AHA also backs measures to increase lifetime and annual insurance caps and limit out-of-pocket expenses.
“Making health insurance coverage available to all Americans without regard to their pre-existing condition, age, or sex must be a critical component of health reform,” said Nancy Brown, CEO of the association. “Patients with cardiovascular disease should not have to go without health insurance simply because they need it the most.”
For more information on the AHA’s policy agenda, visit www.heartsforhealthcare.org.
