The 15 Promises

I took some time recently to revisit the Health Care Agenda posted on the Office of the President-elect's website at change.gov. I began picking apart the promises set forth, and have arrived at a working list of what I deem to be The 15 Promises.

In four years time, I intend to revisit this list and provide commentary on:

1. What was attempted.
2. What was achieved.
3. What progress was made.
4. What was successful.
5. What failed, and why.

The 15 Promises

1. Ensure everyone who needs it will receive a tax credit for their premiums.
2. Create a new Small Business Health Tax Credit to help small businesses provide affordable health insurance to their employees.
3. Require large employers that do not offer coverage or make a meaningful contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees.
4. Lower costs for businesses by covering a portion of the catastrophic health costs they pay in return for lower premiums for employees.
5. Require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions.
6. Minimum coverage requirements for preventive services, including cancer screenings.
7. Establish a National Health Insurance Exchange with a range of private insurance options as well as a new public plan.
8. Reform the insurance market to increase competition by taking on anti-competitive activity that drives up prices without improving quality of care.
9. Allow the importation of safe medicines from other developed countries.
10. Increase use of generic drugs in public programs.
11. Take on drug companies that block cheaper generic medicines from the market.
12. Require hospitals to collect and report health care cost and quality data.
13. Invest in proven strategies to reduce preventable medical errors.
14. Prevent insurers from overcharging doctors for their malpractice insurance.
15. Increase state and local preparedness for terrorist attacks and natural disasters.