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Posted on 11/19/2006 8:12:43 AM PST by SmithL
A task force established by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to draft a plan for dealing with skyrocketing health costs in California is considering calling for repeal of some treatment mandates on health maintenance organizations.
Administration aides said the proposal -- which would require approval by the Legislature -- is one of many under consideration as part of the long-awaited plan the Republican governor says he will unveil in his State of the State speech in January.
"Right now, the administration is combing through hundreds of ideas and concepts," said Adam Mendelsohn, the governor's communications director. "No idea is in, no idea is out, and there is no specific plan developed."
Michael Shaw, assistant director for the National Federation of Independent Business, said relaxation of some mandates would lower premium costs for small-business owners and allow them to provide coverage for more employees.
"The No. 1 reason that small businesses do not provide health care in many cases is that they simply can't afford it," said Shaw, whose organization has met with members of the governor's task force to urge them to repeal mandates.
Employers have complained about the more than 50 mandates since 1999, when Gov. Gray Davis signed health care legislation requiring HMOs to offer a host of treatment and preventive care services.
Included are coverage for a variety of mental illnesses, including anorexia and bulimia, cancer screenings and contraception. Employers blame the mandates for contributing to the 55 percent rise in insurance premiums in the last five years alone.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Here's an idea Arnold
This is a great proposal, these mandates raise the cost of insurance for everyone. I belive insurance companeis are mandated to cover things like wigs and various other ridicuousness by some state governemnts, who then get kickbacks in political donations from special interest medical groups who want all their procedures covered.
There should be no mandates and then people can buy whatever insurance they want.
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The rising cost of HMO care, particularly Kaiser, is causing many employers to go with tier 2 coverage, which is catastrophic protection and forces employees to dedicate up 25% of his wages for routine care.
Any system that only covers catastrophic costs is designed to protect the patient's lifestyle, not the patient's health. Catastrophic protection is particularly redundant today in the US since the government has been mandated to cover those costs for all residents, not just citizens.
Many have suggested a cafeteria approach for provision of coverage and protection from litigation for those who offer it. If office visits are to be covered, you get them. Add hospitalization if you wish. Prescription drug coverage is another add, as is screening, physical therapy, dental or ocular.
A good way to start is by first taking all the public service garbage off the boob tube that is always telling us we probably have some terminal disease and need to see our doctor right away. The second step should be to remove all the ads from TV for every new medicine that comes down the pike. Everytime one of those ads are shown you have 300 million people in this country who think they should be taking it. We've become a nation of hypochondriacs because of what we see everyday on the boob tube.
I have to pay coverage for substance abuse treatment, psychiatric disorders, and a whole host of other "arrangements" I will never use and don't want if I want to maintain my HSA in California. It's a joke.
One of the many things the Republicans blew in the last 12 years was not passing a law to allow the purchase of health insurance across state lines, letting buyers bypass these price-inflating mandates. Personally I don't need to have coverage for visits to medicine men or voodoo priests, and I'd just as soon not be paying a higher premium for the benefit of those who do.
Laud AZ and CO for not providing illegals free medical care. The idiots at the state level ought to know that this is the reason why state health care costs have soared.
Go figure! Mitt would not have a response for this if he were President. The state of Utah - his home base of operations where most of his mentors are located love illegals - because of Utah's soaring service based economy.
Bump.
Unfortunately that seems not to be legal.
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