The health law requires insurers to offer a minimum package of benefits.
Under the proposal, Congress would define a minimum package of benefits that must be provided by insurance companies, and federal officials would later fill in the details.
All insurers would have to offer a minimum package of benefits, to be defined by the federal government, and nearly all Americans would be required to have insurance.
If the government specifies a minimum package of benefits, Ms. Darling said, it could quickly become more comprehensive, without any significant cost controls.
Ms. Sebelius will decide on a minimum package of essential health benefits, and her decision will not require further action by Congress.
Under Mr. Kennedy's bill, the secretary of health and human services would establish a panel of experts, the Medical Advisory Council, to recommend a minimum package of insurance benefits.
The number of health centers providing a minimum package of health care services has increased from 386 in 1998 to 833 in 2004.
Additionally, Uganda's health policy is based on a minimum package of essential health services, which was initially costed at $34 per capita by the WHO [23], [24].
The needs assessment revealed that no health facility was prepared to offer the minimum package of services as outlined by the national guidelines, and partner organizations were called upon to fill this gap.
With the recent WHO TBIC policy guidance as the reference, Indian healthcare providers (private and public) and the Revised National TB Control Programme RNTCPP) will need to begin implementing at least a minimum package of basic TB infection control measures, and enhance capacity for TBIC at the country level with adequate budget allocation.
The minimum package of services is available to the whole population, irrespectively of insurance status.
