Vouchers key to universal healthcare plan

STANFORD, Calif., March 23 (UPI) -- A U.S. health economist Wednesday said a voucher system could provide a basic health insurance package to all Americans without a big increase in costs.

Victor Fuchs, a professor emeritus at Stanford University, authored the plan, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, that proposes government-paid universal coverage costing about what the United States now spends on healthcare each year -- estimated by the government at $1.7 trillion.

The plan would give every American under age 65 a voucher to pay for a standardized package of health services -- including doctor visits, hospital care, preventive services, mental health care and prescription drugs. People would choose a participating health plan and could purchase additional benefits with their own money.

The Fuchs plan would end Medicaid, employer-based health insurance and, as the population ages, Medicare as well.

The delivery of healthcare would continue to be provided through private health plans, clinics and hospitals but a federal health board would be created to define the basic benefits package and set reimbursement rates for providers.