Carolene believes every American should have health care coverage. Currently, every state around the country is pushing hard for health care reform as the costs of care continue to rise and employers continue to drop coverage for their employees because insurance is no longer affordable. The 47 million uninsured, many who are working families and children, deserve to have access to quality, affordable care. Outlined below are the highlights of Carolene's vision for reforming America's health care system.
Prevention and Wellness
Fund initiatives such as wellness programs that increase health literacy and patient involvement in their own care
Promote programs that teach healthy lifestyle choices, tobacco cessation, and proper weight management
Provide support for expanding chronic disease management programs
Increase funding for coverage of mental health and addiction treatment
Focus on the issue of disparities in health care- especially for Blacks and Hispanics who are more likely to be left without access to basic and advanced care
Universal Access to Affordable Health Care
Ensure every American has access to basic primary care services
Address the shortage of health care providers- especially primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurses by offering incentives to practice in community-based clinics and other underserved areas
Increase payments to primary care providers for care that focuses on health promotion and prevention
Support small business health coverage- promote health purchasing pools and tax incentives to increase employee coverage
Promote community-based care by increasing funding and support for community health clinics
Expand Funding for SCHIP, Medicare, & Medicaid
SCHIP is critical to the health of America's most vulnerable and precious resource; SCHIP must be funded immediately
Make sure seniors have affordable, quality choices for medications and treatment
Ensure Medicaid programs who serve the most ill and at-risk have the proper funding and incentives in place to maximize care and coverage
Other Key Initiatives
Promote federal/state government partnerships that support current state health reform efforts
Increase funding for information technology infrastructure expansion and integration as a means to; increase collaboration between providers and health systems, increase patient/provider interactions, allow for tracking and monitoring of patient outcomes, increase efforts aimed at improving and measuring quality, and to increase economic and patient care efficiency
Support funding for national access to electronic medical records
Support initiatives that improve the quality of care, decrease patient care mistakes, and improve patient safety
Increase access to health information and increase transparency to allow consumers to make educated choices and take responsibility for their care
because insurance is no longer affordable. The 47 million uninsured, many who are working families and children, deserve to have access to quality, affordable care. Outlined below are the highlights of Carolene's vision for reforming America's health care system. 