Healthcare is clearly one of the greatest challenges facing our nation today. Unfortunately, the challenge will only increase in the future if we do not act responsibly now. Nearly 47 million Americans don’t have health insurance, employers and workers are finding it harder to afford the ever-rising costs of insurance, and our healthcare outcomes are falling behind other nations.

Any comprehensive healthcare reform proposal must address all of these challenges: accessibility, affordability and quality.

A bipartisan group of Senate and House members have recently introduced legislation that does just that. Led by Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Bill Bennett (R-Utah) in the Senate, and introduced in the House by myself, Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), this is the first bipartisan, comprehensive health care reform proposal in more than a decade. Our proposal, known as the Healthy Americans Act, will provide all Americans with affordable, high-quality, private health coverage equal to that enjoyed by members of Congress and federal government employees.

The fundamentals of the legislation are straightforward. Under the Healthy Americans Act, individuals will be required to purchase insurance from a variety of private insurance plans offered in their state. By putting individual Americans — rather than employers or the government — in charge of healthcare, everyone will be guaranteed insurance, even if they change jobs, lose their jobs or become too sick to work.

Employers who have previously footed the bill will instead pay the money directly to employees to purchase health insurance for themselves and their families. A tax benefit will be provided to offset the cost of purchasing insurance and, for those who cannot afford health insurance, subsidies will be offered. Funding for the subsidies will come through obviating all or portions of such programs as Medicaid, SCHIP, Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) supports and others that currently exist because so many people lack insurance. In addition, employers will contribute modest payments to a general fund based on their size and income, with large employers who have previously avoided health care benefits paying a proportionately higher share into the fund.

An independent estimate of the costs and savings of this legislation suggest it will be able to provide affordable insurance and health care to 99 percent of all Americans while saving up to $1.5 trillion in costs over the first decade of implementation. By using the strength of the market, competition among health insurance providers will help drive costs down, as consumers become more empowered to pick the plan that best meets their needs and begin to make cost-effective decisions for themselves and their families. Individuals will also be provided with unbiased information about the costs and outcomes of different treatments, and there will be incentives for individuals and insurers to focus on prevention, wellness and disease management. The proposal protects consumers from discrimination based on health status, genetics, or age, thereby requiring insurers to compete on cost and service rather than on “cherry picking” participants.

It would be easy to wait until after the next election to tackle this tough issue, but the time to address our country’s health care system is now. The responsibility falls to the legislative branch, not the next president. The Healthy Americans Act is gaining tremendous momentum from leaders in business, labor and healthcare. Most importantly, our experience says that when constituents are asked if they would like to have health insurance equal to what we in Congress enjoy and that cannot be taken away from them even if they lost or changed jobs, the answer is a loud and enthusiastic “Yes!”

Baird is a member of the House Budget, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Science committees, and is chairman of the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education.

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