Healthcare reform is a major topic of local, state and national interest. While many policy makers and community leaders are focusing on ways to cover the uninsured, SHD is pursuing a different aspect of health policy: how to respond to the rising cost of healthcare coverage.

Since 2000, SHD has been engaging the public in a broader discussion of how we as a society -- as consumers and as citizens -- should fairly and responsibly allocate communal resources.

This aspect of healthcare reform is vitally important because:

• Coverage decisions are essential to attaining a sustainable healthcare system.
• The topic has received too little attention in the healthcare reform debates.
• There are no easy answers, and decisions require careful consideration of priorities and trade-offs.
• This subject requires the public to consider priority-setting as citizens, not just as patients.
• Policymakers need to understand the views of an informed public.

 Current programs:

Line in the Sand: Consumers distinguish essential from non-essential coverage.
Working with Other States: Consultation to help states identify coverage priorities.
CHAT Sessions: Healthcare/business leaders wrestle with trade-offs.

 Previous Projects:

Just Coverage:The public explores basic health coverage.
Getting Good Value:Citizens grapple with the high cost of medical treatments.
Medi-Cal CHAT:Disabled adults prioritize their Medi-Cal benefits.
Capitol Region CHAT:Employees consider trade-offs in healthcare benefits.
Visible Fairness:The public debates cost-effectiveness in coverage decisions.

 Noteworthy:

New America Foundation commissions SHD policy paper on benefits design

In the forefront of promoting a bipartisan approach to universal coverage, NAF′s Health Policy director Len Nichols is an enthusiastic supporter of SHD′s work. At his request, Executive Director Marge Ginsburg prepared a detailed look at strategies for developing a sustainable healthcare benefits package. With a strong emphasis on citizen participation, Balancing Act: Creating a Sustainable Health Care Benefits Package examines the types of trade-offs that policymakers and the public must consider.

When the paper was released in Nov, 2007, Ginsburg was the featured speaker for a policy briefing in Washington DC arranged by NAF. More than 60 capitol hill staff and healthcare policy leaders attended her presentation, Health Insurance: What Should Everyone Be Covered For? CSPAN3 provided live coverage of the event.