Posted: June 6, 2010

Making Health Insurance More Accessible & Affordable

We already have nationalized healthcare — a single payer — on 55% of the health care costs in the United States, and those systems (Medicare, SCHIP, Medicaid) aren’t working very efficiently. Some in Washington believe that by nationalizing the additional 45%, magically and mysteriously, it will become more efficient.

But it is government involvement and over-regulation has deteriorated what was once a great system, and if we continue down the current Washington path, it will be a health care disaster for all Americans.

Look at Medicare Part D as an example. I helped to launch one of the most successful Medicare plans in the country, and I advised many in Washington not to launch the program in the manner they did. I was asked by a number of skeptical legislators if I thought companies would start dropping retiree coverage and off—load those members to Medicare. I said, “Of course they will, and in droves.” That is exactly what is happening. Look for a repeat. It will be what we call a slow death spiral to private, commercial insurance, creating an unsustainable, federally funded plan.

How do we address the problem?

There are a number of excellent options to improve access:

• Start by making young people’s health care premiums deductible: The bulk of the uninsured are young people, self-employed workers or employees and family members of smaller companies with fewer than 25 employees. This common-sense reform would immediately make health insurance more affordable and more accessible.

• Give aggressive tax benefits to small companies to provide coverage: Let’s give better deductibility to consumers for the cost of their health care, advocating use of cost basis Explanation of Benefits (EOB’s) that gives consumers knowledge of what they are paying and how much their employer is paying.

As your next Insurance Commissioner, I will carry a bullhorn to Washington and to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to talk about the more than 1900 crushing health insurance mandates, which are adding 20% to 50% to the cost of health care. Furthermore, I will lead the effort to establish a best-practices website where states can learn from one another about which practices are saving money and which ones are not.

Everywhere I go, I talk about my passion: health care transparency and reconnecting patients with providers with the right incentives — not based on the old ineffective strategy of cutting reimbursements year after year and driving providers out of business.

I’m confident that my record of expertise on the health care issue uniquely qualifies me to be Georgia’s next Insurance Commissioner. With your help, we’ll reduce our health insurance costs and realize our vision of making Georgia the free-market insurance model for the nation.

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Paid for by the Committee To Elect Gerry Purcell | Developed By: EYEthirst Media Group