ABSTRACT
The centerpiece of any health care reform legislation is its benefits package. Indeed, much of the publicity surrounding President Clinton's Task Force on Health Care Reform focused on which benefits were "in" versus which were "out." In a mixed public-private system, however, a choice must be made. The Clinton Administration has opted for standardized benefits in its health care reform proposal. The specific services covered under a reformed health care system should be drawn from a cogent set of criteria. One of the major problems with the US health care system is that many people are prevented from purchasing affordable private health insurance. Most other analysts have concluded that cost sharing is one of a series of necessary elements of a reformed health care system, and that without such requirements, cost control will be all the more difficult. Perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of health care reform is the equating of universal access to insurance with adequate access to services.
