Posted on 04/03/2009 4:59:41 PM PDT by Lorianne
Maryland now has two universal health care plans to cover more than 800,000 uninsured residents.
Two high-ranking state lawmakers and the CEO of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield unveiled Wednesday morning a roughly $1.6 billion plan for extending health care benefits to all Marylanders who cannot afford to buy it, choose not to buy it or have lost coverage through their employer.
If adopted, the plan would create a health insurance pool that includes members of the state’s high-risk health plan, individuals who are covered by commercial insurers and the rest of the state’s uninsured who are not eligible for Medicaid and other publicly funded programs. It also would wipe out the state’s individual health insurance market and penalize health insurers, individuals and businesses that do not participate.
The plan — dubbed Healthy Maryland — is the brainchild of CareFirst CEO Chester “Chet” Burrell and Del. Peter A. Hammen, chair of the House Health and Government Operations Committee and a staunch advocate of universal health coverage. Healthy Maryland, which is before state lawmakers as House Bill 860 and Senate Bill 515, also has the support of Sen. Thomas “Mac” Middleton, chair of the Senate Finance Committee.
“This is the next step to health care reform in Maryland,” Hammen said at the news conference.
One of the biggest provisions of the plan is to create a mandate that all individuals who do not currently get insurance do so, Burrell said.
“You would be required to have it just like you are required to have liability coverage for your car,” he said.
That concept is modeled after Massachusetts’ program for universal health care. The cost would be adjusted on a sliding scale and the state would subsidize the cost for those who cannot afford the premiums. The average unsubsidized monthly premium would be $250 per month, per person.
To date, CareFirst and lawmakers have not floated the plan to other insurers or the business community. But the goal is to strike a debate on the issue and then assemble work groups in the summer that would seek input from those stakeholders, Burrell said.
Healthy Maryland would be funded by enrollees’ premiums, penalties charged of individuals and employers who don’t participate, a share of hospitals’ uncompensated care reimbursement, and money from the Maryland Health Insurance Program, which would cease to exist. The plan does not call for a new or increased tax on businesses — a component of another universal health care plan introduced by Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative in November.
That $15.5 billion plan, spearheaded by Vincent DeMarco, would require a 2 percent hike on businesses’ payroll taxes. Small businesses balked at that plan.
It is unclear how businesses view Healthy Maryland, but talk within the health care industry suggests Maryland’s employers may not have to worry about it until next year. Annapolis insiders say CareFirst, Hammen and Middleton are floating the Healthy Maryland plan this year as a way to gauge lawmakers’ and the public’s appetite for the plan and to encourage more debate about health care coverage.
If that is the case, universal health care reform will become an election year issue for Gov. Martin O’Malley, a Democrat, and other state lawmakers in 2010.
President Barack Obama, meanwhile, has made universal health care coverage a pillar of his administration. Still, officials of Owings Mills-based CareFirst said the region’s largest health insurer did not want to wait for progress to be made on the federal level.
Though some might balk at devising a universal health plan during a down economy, the time is right for health care reform, according to Burrell.
“What better time to do it then in a time of crisis,” he said.
“We think Healthy Maryland is a solid starting point for meaningful discussion and debate regarding expanding access to health care coverage in Maryland,” Jeff Valentine, a CareFirst spokesman, said in a statement. “We look forward to being fully engaged in the debate as we move forward.”
DeMarco said: “The important thing is everyone is looking in the direction” of universal health care. “We’re thrilled [CareFirst is] doing this. We completely agree with CareFirst that this has to be done.”
DeMarco’s plan also requires all Marylanders to have health insurance. His plan would create a state health insurance pool for residents and small businesses to purchase coverage. The state would also help pay premiums for low- to moderate-income families.
A difference in the two plans involves Medicaid: DeMarco’s plan would expand the state’s Medicaid program to cover more of the low-income uninsured. Healthy Maryland does not include that component.
Romney haters ping!
The Blues vary a lot from state to state. In Maryland, CareFirst - the Maryland affiliate of Blue Cross/Blue Shield - does a much better job than any of the other health insurance providers that I've worked with or my brokers have worked with for small group health health insurance.
Some of the other insurers here include MAMSI (Optimum Choice), which was bought by United HealthCare, Aetna, Coventry, and a few others. I have direct experience with some of these, and have been warned away concerning others from my brokers, because the others are even worse.
There are companies that offer insurance that provide better coverage and are easier to work with, less bureaucratic, etc. But these are policies for folks who are very well-off. I believe that Guardian still offers policies in Maryland. Absolutely first-rate insurance. But the last time I checked a couple of years ago, they cost over $30,000 per year for a family policy.
But without getting into these very high-priced policies, in Maryland, CareFirst is about as good as it ordinarily gets.
sitetest
Costs have been going up dramatically the last few years. In order to keep affording insurance for our staff, we've gone to a high-deductible with health savings accounts to help pay for part of the deductible.
sitetest
They suck here in Texas and have always sucked.
“What better time to do it then in a time of crisis,” he said.
That sentence says it all.
You would be required to have it just like you are required to have liability coverage for your car,” he said.
Moron. What if I don’t choose to own an auto? - Do I still need to buy auto insurance?
“Great. My firm contracts with Carefirst, and just got a notice that our rates are going up over 20% for this year. This is the reason why.”
The double-digit increases are also why we are headed for socialized medicine. This issue turns even staunch conservatives liberal - when they are faced with paying the full cost of medical care/insurance.
If Obama games the issue well enough, this will be what gives him a chance at re-election when by all rights, he should have no chance at all.
The Full Cost of medical care would go down if there was any incentive to reduce costs in the medical field. Since the deep pockets of health insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid, S-CHIP, and so on pay for so much of our health care, and use of health insurance is encouraged by government policy, the costs get astronomical.
Imagine if we had comprehensive food insurance: Bread: 15 dollars a loaf! Apples: 10 dollars a pound! Milk: 20 dollars a gallon!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.