Click for more on each Resource:

What You Need to Know Right Now | Affordability | Charity Care | Children's Health | Consumer Voice | Cost and Quality | Insurance Reform | Lessons from the States | Medicaid | Prescription Drugs | Tools for State Advocates | Vulnerable Populations | Youth

Also see Community Catalyst's Bill Summaries page.

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What You Need to Know Right Now

• Sample Letters to the Editor (March 09, 2010) Examples of letters to the editors from different types of people focusing on a variety of issues that push for comprehensive national health care reform.
• A side-by-side comparison of the affordability provisions in the House and Senate bills and the president's proposal (March 08, 2010) Community Catalyst and PICO distilled the House and Senate bills and President Obama's proposal to compare premiums, out-of-pocket costs and overall health care costs for families by income.
• Talking Points to Push Health Care Reform Over the Finish Line (March 08, 2010) This is it! Use these talking points to help you reach your various audiences with the right messages in the final push for comprehensive national health care reform.
• Health Care Reform: A full circle solution (March 08, 2010) This one-page graphic shows how the pieces of comprehensive health care reform are interconnected.
• "America Needs Reform Now" Presentation (March 01, 2010) This Power Point presentation outlines the many ways that national health care reform will help people in your community.
• Real Reform: The president’s health care reform proposal is a bipartisan plan for health security (February 24, 2010) America needs real health care reform that will: end insurance company abuses; insure the millions of uninsured Americans; control skyrocketing costs; and reduce the national deficit. This paper assesses the key provisions of leading health care reform proposals from both parties in addressing these challenges.
• The Massachusetts Election Was Not a Vote Against Health Reform (February 12, 2010) Health care reform opponents have characterized the Massachusetts special election as "a referendum against health reform." However, polling data shows that voters did not vote for Scott Brown to stop national reform.
• The Senate Health Care Reform Bill Strengthens our Nation’s Economic Health (January 26, 2010) Many opponents of national health care reform - including those in Congress - cite the country's deficit as a reason to hold off on passing legislation. This document details why health care reform will actually strengthen our nation’s economic health.
• Senate Health Care Reform Package Will Secure Coverage and Improve Quality of Care (January 21, 2010) The Senate Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has many strong provisions that will benefit consumers by: creating strong consumer protections, containing health care costs, lowering the cost insurance policies, improving choice and competition and requiring greater accountability from insurance companies.

Affordability

• A side-by-side comparison of the affordability provisions in the House and Senate bills and the president's proposal (March 08, 2010) Community Catalyst and PICO distilled the House and Senate bills and President Obama's proposal to compare premiums, out-of-pocket costs and overall health care costs for families by income.
• Affordable Coverage Must Be a Priority in Merging the House and Senate Bills (December 22, 2009) This fact sheet makes the case for ensuring reform makes health care more affordable and outlines the provisions in the House and Senate bills necessary to do so.
• $900 Billion is $900 Billion—or is it? Gross vs Net spending and why it matters (December 22, 2009) The House and Senate bills calculate the cost of reform differently, and that has a big impact on the merge and efforts to make health care more affordable.
• Increasing Access to Health Care for African Americans Depends on Improving Affordability when Merging Bills (December 22, 2009) This fact sheet outlines the issues faced by African American families in accessing health care and how improving affordability provisions in the final bill will address their needs.
• Increasing Access to Care for Hispanic Families Depends on Improving Affordability when Merging Bills (December 22, 2009) Health care reform must make premiums affordable for low- and moderate-income families, or insurance will continue to remain out-of-reach for too many Hispanic families.
• Affordable Coverage: What is at stake for families and communities in the merger of the House and Senate health reform bills (November 28, 2009) An analysis of the House and Senate bills exploring the affordability provisions in each and assessing the next steps in making health care affordable for all Americans.
• Common Sense Affordability Protections: How the Senate Can Deliver Health Reform that Works for Low-Income Families and the Country (October 19, 2009) Community Catalyst and PICO examined economic data to determine what low-income families can truly afford to pay for coverage and what they would be expected to pay under the two Senate and three House bills. The paper proposes five measures that would reduce costs and raise revenue to make coverage more affordable.
• Getting Affordability Right (September 16, 2009) This new fact sheet focuses on why affordability standards are critical to the success of health care reform - and outlines what can be done to make health insurance and health care affordable for American families.
• Voices from the Field: The Case for a Commonsense Affordability Standard (July 09, 2009) The reason millions of Americans lack health insurance is that they cannot afford coverage. For reform to succeed – from both a policy and political perspective – it must directly address the question of affordability. This brief from Community Catalyst and PICO outlines the key principles of an Affordability Standard.
• Individual Mandates: Critical Consumer Protections (July 09, 2009) Many analysts believe an individual mandate – a requirement that people obtain health insurance – is necessary to reach quality, affordable health care for all. With such a mandate, protections must ensure coverage is affordable and adequate.
• A Guide to Protecting Consumers Under an Individual Mandate (March 01, 2008) Community Catalyst offers suggestions to guard against overburdening the people who should benefit from health care reform. This report highlights the need for adequate consumer protections in designing mandates and sharing responsibility among employers, insurers and providers.
• Affordable Health Care for All: What Does Affordable Really Mean? (April 01, 2007) Community Catalyst's first step in creating a new methodology for defining affordability of health insurance by drawing together several different studies.

Charity Care

• Summary of Provisions on Hospital Accountability in National Health Reform (January 08, 2010) National health reform will affect the role hospitals play as safety net providers. This summary, updated to reflect changes introduced by the Managers' Amendment, breaks down what the House and Senate bills require of hospitals.
• Protecting and Strengthening the Hospital Safety Net (December 08, 2009) What free care and community benefits are hospitals required to provide, and how can you make sure your hospital is living up to its obligations? Use this fact sheet to learn what you can do at the federal, state and local levels to keep hospitals accountable.
• The Charity Care and Community Benefit Obligations of Nonprofit Hospitals (June 08, 2009) Nonprofit hospitals, in exchange for billions of dollars in annual tax exemptions, should play an essential role in serving the health needs of the vulnerable in their communities. This memo sets forward principles for national standards that promote transparency, accountability and fairness, while strengthening the partnership between nonprofit hospitals and the communities they serve.

Children's Health

• Children’s Health Care Priorities: Fix What's Broken and Build on What Works (July 13, 2009) Children's health issues have been prioritized by the Obama administration and Congress in the health care debate. This Community Catalyst memo highlights three essential children’s issues that need to be incorporated into a national reform bill.

Consumer Voice

• Strengthening Consumer Engagement: A Critical Ingredient in Successful Health Reform (June 08, 2009) Consumers are shut out, confused and frustrated by our complex and fragmented health care system. Consumers must be fully engaged to ensure health reform will improve care for everyone. Community Catalyst recommends a model framework and structure for consumer engagement serviced by local, nonprofit consumer-based organizations.
• Consumer Health Advocacy: A View from 16 States (October 03, 2006) The active involvement of consumer advocates is a critical ingredient of successful state health reform. These are key findings of a benchmark study by Community Catalyst, which examined consumer health advocacy in a cross section of states and found that while political environments vary widely state by state, an organized consumer voice makes a difference in all states.

Cost and Quality

• Saving Money by Improving Medicaid (January 27, 2009) Medicaid is a prime target for state budget savings. But Medicaid should be strengthened, not weakened, during difficult economic times. This report provides short term and longer term cost containment options for states.
• Getting What We Pay For: Reducing Wasteful Medical Spending (December 01, 2008) As much as 30 percent of health care spending could be eliminated without compromising the nation's health. By addressing overuse, underuse and misuse of medical care, we can save money and improve quality at the same time. The report analyzes the problems and suggests ways that advocates and policymakers can work for change.
• Special Delivery: How Coordinated Care Programs can Improve Quality and Save Costs (June 05, 2009) The delivery of health care in the United States is fragmented and uncoordinated. This adds unnecessary risks and costs to people’s health care experience. This report shows how consumer advocates have a critical role to play in ensuring that coordinated care models are devised and implemented with patients and families at their center and that the resulting programs produce better care and reduced costs.

Insurance Reform

• Fighting Legal Challenges to Health Care Reform (January 26, 2010) National health care reform is already facing opposition on the state level. This resource explains what reform provisions are likely to come under attack and provides legal arguments and talking points to defend the bill.
• Why American Families Need Health Reform (September 09, 2009) This fact sheet outlines how families fare under the current system, and how the health health insurance reform will lower costs, give you more security, and improve care.
• A Public Plan Option: Promoting Meaningful Choice, Higher Quality and Lower Costs (June 08, 2009) A public insurance option should be a central feature of any plan to expand coverage to the millions of uninsured Americans. If offered on a level playing field with private insurance plans, a public plan would enable families to choose from a wider array of health coverage options, create a broader platform for implementing quality initiatives and payment reforms, and lower overall health care costs.
• Expanding Coverage for Dependents (February 01, 2009) Young adults are one of the fastest growing groups of uninsured. A simple solution: allows young people to remain on their parents' plans. The report incorporates lessons learned from advocates and suggests tactics for campaigns to expand dependent coverage, including reducing eligibility restrictions.
• Pitfalls of High Risk Pools (October 01, 2008) As policymakers propose expansions of high risk pools to increase health insurance coverage, they are no substitute for strong market reforms. This Community Catalyst brief summarizes the most common problems with high risk pools and links to resources for more information.
• A Consumer Guide to Creating a Health Insurance Connector (July 17, 2007) As more and more states across the country consider a Connector, or an organized marketplace of health plan options, to improve their state health care system, Community Catalyst urges attention to several internal and external factors that influence the success of such initiatives.

Lessons from the States

• The Massachusetts Election Was Not a Vote Against Health Reform (February 12, 2010) Health care reform opponents have characterized the Massachusetts special election as "a referendum against health reform." However, polling data shows that voters did not vote for Scott Brown to stop national reform.
• Fighting Legal Challenges to Health Care Reform (January 26, 2010) National health care reform is already facing opposition on the state level. This resource explains what reform provisions are likely to come under attack and provides legal arguments and talking points to defend the bill.
• The Real Cost of Massachusetts Health Reform (July 28, 2009) Health reform in Massachusetts significantly expanded health insurance coverage, while minimizing additional costs to the Commonwealth
• Massachusetts Health Reform: The Facts (June 04, 2009) Since Massachusetts passed its landmark health care reform plan in April 2006, 428,000 people have gained quality, affordable health coverage. This fact sheet outlines the Massachusetts plan and addresses issues of coverage, access, affordability and cost.
• Creating an Exchange: Lessons from Massachusetts (June 04, 2009) Massachusetts’ experience with health reform offers useful lessons as Congress considers creating a national health insurance Exchange. Success in Massachusetts hinged on its Exchange and other important policy decisions.
• Massachusetts Health Reform: What’s the Real Story? (April 20, 2009) Community Catalyst and Health Care for All's fact sheet outlines the successes and challenges of the Massachusetts' health reform law and its effect on the uninsured and the state's budget.
• An Example of Consumer Engagement: The Massachusetts Helpline (June 08, 2009) Massachusetts’ landmark health care reform plan opened up new insurance coverage for hundreds of thousands of residents. Health Care for All's Helpline has been critical to its success through enrollment assistance and identifying and document trouble spots during implementation.
• Healthy San Francisco: A Case Study of City-Level Health Reform (August 01, 2008) Healthy San Francisco (HSF) is an innovative attempt to address the problems of the uninsured at the city level. The development of HSF illustrates key factors in health reform relevant at the local, state and even national level. The factors that contributed to the success of HSF include political leadership, a strong delivery system foundation on which to build community support, and the availability of state and federal funding.

Medicaid

• Summary of Provisions on Hospital Accountability in National Health Reform (January 08, 2010) National health reform will affect the role hospitals play as safety net providers. This summary, updated to reflect changes introduced by the Managers' Amendment, breaks down what the House and Senate bills require of hospitals.
• Immigrant Coverage: Giving States the Option to Eliminate the Five-Year Wait for Medicaid (December 10, 2009) The current health care legislation pending in the Senate bars qualified, legal immigrants from accessing Medicaid for five years. This fact sheet explains who is affected by this unfair standard, and why states should have the power to extend Medicaid to all their denizens.
• Saving Money by Improving Medicaid (January 27, 2009) Medicaid is a prime target for state budget savings. But Medicaid should be strengthened, not weakened, during difficult economic times. This report provides short term and longer term cost containment options for states.
• Strengthening Medicaid in National Health Reform (June 04, 2009) Medicaid has long provided a foundation of health care coverage for people with low incomes and special health care needs, and should serve as a cornerstone of national reform. Community Catalyst outlines the principles that should be included in legislation in order to protect this vital program.
• Defending Medicaid In Hard Times: A Guide for State Advocates (February 12, 2009) As states face budget shortfalls, Medicaid is often a target for cuts. This guide distills lessons from Medicaid defense work in a number of states and provides tools to fight cuts and introduce the most promising alternatives.

Prescription Drugs

• Priorities for Federal Health Reform Related to Prescription Drugs (June 08, 2009) Prescription drug reform is an essential component in building a quality, cost-effective and sustainable health care system. Community Catalyst addresses the issue in the private and public sectors through coalition building, class action lawsuits and policy change at the state and national level.

Tools for State Advocates

• Real Reform: The president’s health care reform proposal is a bipartisan plan for health security (February 24, 2010) America needs real health care reform that will: end insurance company abuses; insure the millions of uninsured Americans; control skyrocketing costs; and reduce the national deficit. This paper assesses the key provisions of leading health care reform proposals from both parties in addressing these challenges.
• The Senate Health Care Reform Bill Strengthens our Nation’s Economic Health (January 26, 2010) Many opponents of national health care reform - including those in Congress - cite the country's deficit as a reason to hold off on passing legislation. This document details why health care reform will actually strengthen our nation’s economic health.
• Senate Health Care Reform Package Will Secure Coverage and Improve Quality of Care (January 21, 2010) The Senate Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has many strong provisions that will benefit consumers by: creating strong consumer protections, containing health care costs, lowering the cost insurance policies, improving choice and competition and requiring greater accountability from insurance companies.
• Bring the National Health Care Reform Conversation to Your District: A Guide for State Advocates (January 01, 2009) Community Catalyst shares tips and strategies for planning health care events while Members of Congress are in the district during recess.
• Getting Ready for National Health Reform: A Guide for State Advocates (November 01, 2008) Community Catalyst shares lessons learned from the 1993-1994 health care reform effort and offers suggestions for maximizing your involvement in the 2009 debate.

Vulnerable Populations

• Increasing Access to Health Care for African Americans Depends on Improving Affordability when Merging Bills (December 22, 2009) This fact sheet outlines the issues faced by African American families in accessing health care and how improving affordability provisions in the final bill will address their needs.
• Increasing Access to Care for Hispanic Families Depends on Improving Affordability when Merging Bills (December 22, 2009) Health care reform must make premiums affordable for low- and moderate-income families, or insurance will continue to remain out-of-reach for too many Hispanic families.
• Immigrant Coverage: Giving States the Option to Eliminate the Five-Year Wait for Medicaid (December 10, 2009) The current health care legislation pending in the Senate bars qualified, legal immigrants from accessing Medicaid for five years. This fact sheet explains who is affected by this unfair standard, and why states should have the power to extend Medicaid to all their denizens.
• Health Reform and Immigrants: Questions and Answers (December 08, 2009) A guide to how proposed national health reform legislation would affect legal and undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.
• Reducing Racial/Ethnic Disparities Checklist for National Health Reform (December 08, 2009) An updated, side-by-side comparison of the provisions related to racial and ethnic disparities in the national health reform bills from the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions committee, Senate Finance Committee and the House committees.
• Health Disparities Policy Recommendations (June 08, 2009) Communities of color and immigrant populations are disproportionately hurt by a lack of health insurance, high health care costs, poor quality treatment, service gaps and other barriers to care. Health care reform can make systemic improvements to reduce these problems. Community Catalyst outlines core recommendations for national reform that can form the framework for additional state and federal initiatives.
• System Change for Dually Eligible Beneficiaries: Better Care, Better Quality (June 08, 2009) While reforming the health delivery system for all Americans is essential, the need is particularly acute among the costliest, most vulnerable members of our society: people who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. This sign-on memo outlines principles to reform the health care delivery system.

Youth

• If Not Now, When? Why youth are joining the health care reform movement (September 04, 2009) If we reject the old premise that only the rich can afford to get sick, and want to build a new nation that takes its strength from looking after its people, then we must work to pass health reform now.