Health Care Policy Principles

The WSMA supports the following policy principles on health care:

1. There should be universal access to affordable health insurance and a government sponsored safety net.
2. The health care system should allow and encourage the availability of different levels of coverage beyond a basic level of protection for those who want it. There must be choice of types of insurance, of physicians and other caregivers – to reflect our pluralistic culture.
3. The health care system should be based on fairness and equity, reflecting personal responsibility and accountability by all stakeholders – patients, physicians and providers of services, public and private payers and insurers. The federal tax code should treat those covered by employer-based insurance or individual-based insurance equally.
4. The delivery and financing of the system must include administrative simplification and standardization, with clear accountability and responsibility by all participants.
5. The financing of the system should include incentives to improve quality, control cost, enhanced efficiency and eliminate the use of ineffective health services and inappropriate variations in care. The system must include improved patient safety and a reformed system for compensating patients injured within the healthcare delivery system.

(BT Rpt H, A-07; Res C-8; A-08)

Return to the WSMA Policy Compendium index

Abbreviations for House of Delegates report origination:

EC – Executive Committee; BT – Board of Trustees; CPA – Council on Professional Affairs; JC – Judicial Council; CHS – Community and Health Services