Universal Coverage.  Our ultimate goal is 100% coverage by date certain.  If political reality makes it necessary to define "universal coverage" as something less than 100% in order to enact a bill in 1994,  Congress should at least make a commitment—on the record—to finding  ways of expanding coverage to the remaining 5%  at a later time.

Without universal coverage, system-wide adverse selection and cost shifting to pay for care of the uninsured will doom any all-voluntary health-care "reform" to failure, leading to:

• Higher insurance premiums
• More people on public, poverty-based  health programs 
• Higher taxes and/or cuts in other public programs (including infrastructure that supports the economy, attracts business and stimulates creation of jobs)

Self-Employment Issues.  Self-employment offers the most promising chance for people with disabilities to get off welfare and into the work force.  That makes it very important to assure that the financing mechanisms in health-care reform don't create work penalties for low-to-moderate-income self-employed individuals.

Disability Representation.  It is critically  important for  informed, qualified people with disabilities to be included on all health boards and/or commissions that oversee issues like access, benefits, quality of care, and consumer protection.  Without disability representation, many board decisions are liable to have disproportionally adverse impact on  health consumers with disabilities.