American Medical Associations Six Principles for Health Care Reform

AMA Principles for Health System Reform (HSR)

Improving the U.S. health care system

Expand coverage

• Provide affordable, essential health insurance coverage for all
• Promote a robust private insurance market
• Ensure sustainable public programs for vulnerable populations

Improve quality

• Provide real time data at point of care
• Use measurement as a tool, not an end point
• Correct problems with the Physicians Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI)

Reform government programs

• Ensure adequate payments
• Enable balance billing and private contracting
• Replace Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR)
• Allow public subsidies for purchasing private insurance

Reduce costs

• Break down silos and reward physicians for reducing costs
• Enact medical liability reforms
• Streamline insurance claims processing

Increased focus on wellness/prevention

• Align insurance benefit design with prevention evidence
• Make public investments in education, community projects, and nutrition
• Eliminate racial, ethnic, and gender disparities

Payment and delivery reforms

• Promote medical home and other steps to reward care coordination of chronic disease
• Provide antitrust relief to improve quality and care coordination
• Conduct adequate testing of new payment models

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/advocacy/current-topics-advocacy/health-system-reform/ama-hsr-principles.shtml