| CRBJ Charter Member: |
|
|
| CRBJ Home > September 2006 | |||||
On health care, a market-driven approach is bestR. J. Pirlot
Although the rate at which health-care costs have gone up has slowed -- premium increases have dropped into the single digits for the first time in five years -- we still have a problem. Health-care cost increases have caused employers to forestall adding workers, trim other benefits, and curtail wage increases. Recently introduced federal legislation would turn the task of finding a solution over to the states, with the federal government helping to fund reform initiatives. Such a federalist approach, relying on state-by-state experiments, should offer more opportunities for reform than Congress trying to impose a one-size-fits-all solution on the country. WMC advocates for market-driven reforms aimed at increasing consumerism and competition to keep health-care costs under control. Giving consumers incentives to spur value-conscious spending decisions and access to good information regarding what they are buying and how much it costs is the surest way to stem rising health-care costs. Health savings accounts (HSAs) are one way Wisconsin employers are giving employees an incentive to make value-conscious spending decisions. HSAs are federally tax-exempt accounts used by employees to pay medical costs. They are worker-owned, may be carried over from year to year and employer to employer, can grow with federal-tax-free earnings, and federal-tax-free withdrawals can be made for care. HSA owners are more cost-conscious than those with more traditional health plans, and the use of HSAs is growing rapidly. Wisconsin workers are being penalized, though, because Wisconsin imposes a state tax on HSAs. Forty-five states exempt HSAs from state taxes. Wisconsin should, too. We also need to make more transparent the quality of care so that consumers can better understand what they are buying. Initiatives like the Wisconsin Hospital Association's Checkpoint and the Wisconsin Collaborative for Health Care Quality rate hospitals and health systems for the quality of the services rendered. Also, a new law will create a public/private central repository for health-care claims data. These are good starts, but more needs to be done and Wisconsin employers need to promote such reporting efforts. Consumers also need ready access to how much the care will actually cost them. Wisconsin businesses need to promote healthier lifestyles by their employees. Businesses can hire or contract with on-site health professionals just as Mercury Marine and Briggs & Stratton have done. Businesses should provide their employees with incentives to tackle weight problems, start exercising, quit smoking, and curb alcohol and other drug abuse. The state can promote wellness by giving businesses a tax break for the programs the private sector implements. Wisconsin needs to minimize cost-shifting within the health-care marketplace. Wisconsin's Medicaid program pays far less than what it costs to actually provide care. When the state shortchanges providers, costs are shifted to the rest of us, a shift labeled the "hidden health-care tax." Health-care providers should get a fair reimbursement from government payers for health-care services; also, a mechanism to reduce charges to private payers must be established. Finally, we need to protect and expand the health-care liability reforms Wisconsin has enacted, such as our recently reimposed cap on non-economic medical malpractice awards. We need to remain vigilant in keeping this new cap in place. WMC supports a multifaceted and consumer-oriented approach to health-care reform. Health-care costs and quality transparency, together with financial incentives to make value-based health-care purchasing decisions, are at the forefront of health-care reform. R. J. Pirlot, an attorney and lobbyist, is director of legislative relations for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
|
||||