The Expanding Medical and Behavioral Resources with Access to Care for Everyone Health Plan

Healthcare Professionals for Healthcare Reform is a group of physicians and others interested in health care reform who, recognizing the urgent need for change, convened to propose a universal health care plan that builds on the strengths of the U.S. health care system and improves on its coverage, efficiency, and capacity for patient choice. The group proposes a tiered plan, the core of which (Tier 1) would be lifetime, basic, publicly funded coverage for the entire population on the basis of the best evidence about which therapies are considered life saving, life-sustaining, or preventive. Optional coverage (Tier 2) would be funded by private insurance and cover all therapies considered to help with quality of life and functional impairment. Items considered to be luxury or cosmetic (Tier 3) would generally not be covered, as is the case under the current system. The entire system would be overseen by a quasi-governmental, largely independent organization known as "The Board," which would resemble the Federal Reserve and interact with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agencies to oversee implementation and coverage. By building on the current health care system while introducing other features and efficiencies, the Expanding Medical and Behavioral Resources with Access to Care for Everyone (EMBRACE) plan for universal health insurance coverage offers several advantages over alternative plans that have been proposed.