WASHINGTON - June 16 - The new federal health care reform law puts state leaders in the driver’s seat, but it’s up to them to implement and improve on the law in order to ensure it offers the best deal to consumers.

Delivering on the Promise, a new report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, lays out what is at stake and shows how state policy makers can improve on the law with specific recommendations and policy advice.

“The futures of our families, our businesses, and our country depend on whether states make this new law work for their residents at the ground level,” explained Larry McNeely, Health Care Advocate with U.S. PIRG and co-author of the report.

 

Delivering on the Promise offers guidance to state policy-makers on how to build an effective health insurance exchange where families and small businesses can pool their buying power to drive better bargains with insurers.

 

“Done right, these exchanges will be the real game-changers.  Proper design can enhance competition and give states the leverage to really drive down costs,” McNeely said.

 

The report also enumerates several new federal grant programs available to help states transform their health care systems. It also spotlights opportunities to build on the federal law with aggressive state-level policies around simplified insurance paperwork, health IT, and restrictions on pharmaceutical marketing. And, while the federal law ultimately did not include a public health insurance option, states have the ability to create one to serve their own residents, Delivering on the Promise notes.

 

“The new federal health care law opens the door for lower costs and security,” McNeely concluded.  “But it’s states that must step through it.”

 

The report is available online by clicking here.