What is CAUSE?

CAUSE is a comprehensive approach to health care reform that began as a frank discussion between a doctor and his patient about the problems of the current health care system. Two years later that physician and experts at the Central Valley Health Policy Institute, Fresno State University, created a comprehensive approach to health care reform: CAUSE.

The CAUSE team resides in one of the most underserved regions in the nation—a region that is similar to many in the U.S. Their personal experiences with a system that denies basic health care to millions augments the expertise they bring to this work.

CAUSE is not only an approach, but also a detailed plan for a rational overhaul of the nation's current ineffective, unfair, and nearly bankrupt health care system—a system that fails to provide any health coverage to some 47 million people.

CAUSE stands for the five principles defined by the Institute of Medicine as critical to guiding the reform of the health care system:

• CONTINUOUS coverage, with no lapses
• AFFORDABLE to individuals, businesses, and government
• UNIVERSAL in that everyone has access to a basic level of care
• SUSTAINABLE because everyone contributes, everyone participates, and costs are managed
• EFFECTIVE in providing high-quality care to everyone