President Obama’s budget proposal for 2010 carves out a path for health care reform with a proposed $634 billion dedicated as a down payment. Check out why Karen Davenport with the Center for American Progress says this makes us “One Step Closer to Better Health Care”:

A centerpiece of the Obama administration’s fiscal year 2010 budget, which was released this morning, is $634 billion over 10 years dedicated to health reform in the form of a reserve fund, giving health care advocates much to celebrate. During the presidential campaign, President Obama promised to seriously tackle health reform. This budget demonstrates his determination to deliver on this promise. The health reform reserve fund is a pool of funds explicitly dedicated to the investments in expanded coverage and health system infrastructure we need to improve the American health care system. The administration has identified significant savings in the Medicare and Medicaid programs and specific new sources of revenue for this purpose.

No less important than the reserve fund itself is the savings that flow into it. The administration has identified inefficiencies and overpayments in the Medicare program, and additional savings in the Medicaid program, to cover $317 billion of this fund. These reforms include important changes in Medicare’s payments to private health insurance plans, new incentives to improve quality of care, and more efficient payment systems for patients who need hospital care and post-hospitalization services. They will improve state Medicaid programs’ purchasing power on prescription drugs and provide greater access to generic medications. These changes will result in meaningful savings. More importantly, these changes will strengthen the Medicare program’s long-term financial position, and, through Medicare’s leadership, pave the way for improved efficiency and quality in the entire health care system.

The budget proposal, however, is just a beginning. This budget must be followed by health reform legislation that makes affordable, comprehensive coverage available to everyone. CAP has long advocated for reforms that build on the vital foundation of the Medicaid and SCHIP programs, use the market leverage of group purchasing to achieve reasonable insurance rates for individuals and small businesses, and provide financial help for individuals and families who cannot afford coverage on their own.