FINDING COMMON GROUND ON HEALTH CARE REFORM

As health care reform progresses through the House and the Senate, certain issues remain the main points of contention, both between Democrats and Republicans, and between the majority of Democrats and their “Blue Dog” colleagues. Efforts are focused on finding ways to bridge the gap on the Federal option, financing for the initial years (before efficiencies generate major savings), the employer mandate, and medical malpractice claims and liability insurance. In the spirit of brainstorming, the following thoughts offer ways that the divide on these issues could be narrowed, to generate support from at least some of the lawmakers who have concerns.

THE FEDERAL OPTION

The Federal option has been hailed for serving two crucial objectives of reform: less expensive premiums and expanded coverage. Yet, opponents distort these assets into liabilities. While they recognize that the Federal option would be more efficient and less expensive – that it will be so good that most people will choose it – they then suggest that this competition hurts competition! Besides for being illogical, their argument suggests that insurance companies either cannot become efficient or should not be prompted to do so, and that insurers can only survive when their market share is protected from competition. It is akin to calling for a cure to cancer but refusing to fund cancer research on the grounds that cancer deaths would decrease, causing the population to swell out of control. Opponents claim to support consumer choice while, at the same time, denying them the choice!

Why do opponents want to restrict choice to the most expensive insurance alternatives, which are also notorious for denying care? Why do they want to protect market share for companies that they recognize would not be the choice of most consumers? Why do they condemn the Federal option for being too efficient at providing quality health care with higher consumer satisfaction? Senator DeMint (R-SC), for example, claims that he has proposed many health care reform alternatives. But each one just used a pretense of reform to promote business development initiatives for insurance companies, allowing insurers to sell to more people and accept premiums from more sources. Promoting and defending health insurers that charge high premiums for limited care that do not satisfy health needs is an affront to the public interest. True competition would and should force some of the “bad actors” in the health insurance market out of business -- which would be good for consumers and businesses -- while the “good actors” in the private insurance market would continue to thrive

Still, in the spirit of bipartisanship, concerns about the Federal option could be accommodated by imposing some limitations and terms on the Federal option. (1) Enrollment could be limited to individuals and families who are currently uninsured, as well as to those who are not insured under group coverage, and to small businesses (with up to 50 or 100 employees, or under a payroll threshold). (2) The Federal option could provide enrollees with a choice of comprehensive coverage or a catastrophic care plan, which would be a lower-cost alternative for those who seek coverage just for major illnesses, and would alleviate the strain on health care providers from uncompensated care for major treatment. The eligibility of small businesses would mute the objections of advocates who claim that small businesses cannot afford comprehensive coverage from private sector health insurers, since even the opponents of the Federal option acknowledge that it would be much cheaper. Insurance companies would benefit by high-risk persons enrolling in the Federal option (as their care is often more expensive), which would also limit the extent to which the Federal option’s premium pricing could decline below that of private insurers. The ineligibility of large and medium sized groups and employers to enroll in the Federal option would ensure that the private market would continue to play a fundamental role in health insurance coverage.

(3) Health care practitioners who wish to participate in the Federal option could be required to meet Health Information Technology (HIT) standards by a specified timetable that is sooner than that required for other providers. This might inhibit some providers from signing up to provide services through the Federal option, thus limiting its market share and maintaining balance with insurers. Yet, it would accelerate the adoption of HIT among many providers who participate in both the Federal option and private insurance. Insurance companies would benefit from this as their participating providers would become oriented toward the use of HIT --- resulting in administrative and cost efficiencies for both the providers and the insurers --- without the insurers applying early efforts toward that transformation.

FINANCING OPTIONS

Everyone agrees that new revenues must be found to pay for the reformed system. But views differ on how to make revenue generation as painless as possible.

The proposal by Senator Kerry (D-MA) to tax health insurers would provide a major source of funds. Some think it would restrain insurers’ ability to compete. But, a tax on insurers that is linked to their overhead and profits would increase quality, efficiency, and consumer satisfaction without impairing insurers’ vital operations. By tying it to insurers’ “expense to premium ratios” (similar to, yet more meaningful than, “loss ratios”), the tax would promote the use of premiums to pay for health care services and treatment, rather than administrative expenses, utilization review, advertising, agent fees, corporate retreats, and profits. Insurers could avoid paying this tax by having a low ratio (below a specified level), since a low ratio would mean that premiums are being used to pay for care, rather than disproportionately paying for overhead. If an insurer’s ratio is higher than the accepted standard, then that excess amount could generate a steep excise tax to recoup those amounts for use in the health care system. Insurers would be incentivized to minimize premiums and expend them on health care services. (“Expense to premium ratios” are a more accurate reflection of insurer behavior than “loss ratios” because “loss ratios” only include insurers’ revenues from premiums, not their major revenues from investment of premiums, which “expense to premium ratios” do take into account.)

Sizeable revenues could also be generated from the House Ways & Means proposal to tax very high-income people, and various efforts to tax “Cadillac health insurance coverage” (e.g., worth more than $15,000 to $25,000 for family coverage). Despite some opposition to these, this criticism could be muted. The tax could be applied only to “Cadillac coverage” over a specified level (e.g., $20,000 for family coverage), and then also be means-tested, to ensure against the tax being placed on a family earning, for example, $100,000. High income families (for example, earning over $250,000 or $350,000 annually) would be taxed at a basic rate for their “Cadillac coverage”, and very wealthy families (e.g., over $1 million) could be taxed at a much higher rate. In this way, “Cadillac coverage”, which is akin to compensation, would only be taxed in the case of those who are most able to afford it (rather than being subsidized by all taxpayers by being tax exempt).

Means testing of “Cadillac coverage” could still be coupled with a reasonable tax on annual incomes over $1 million. This additional tax could be tempered, however, by applying it for just a limited number of years, until the efficiencies of the reformed health care system generate anticipated savings which can be applied to the system.

EMPLOYER MANDATE

To some, an employer mandate is the key to universal coverage, affordability of coverage, and reducing uncompensated care. But to others, it’s just plain scary.

The employer mandate has been derided as unaffordable for small businesses, many of which allegedly would sacrifice business growth to avoid it. Scare tactics are intensifying, with Congressman John Shadegg (R-AZ) on July 30th implying that the mandate would apply to all businesses with two employees. While critics focus on the cost of insurance, they ignore the cost of NOT being insured. Employees in small businesses are not exempt from becoming sick, developing chronic illnesses, and wishing they had health insurance. If these employees do not have health coverage, then it adversely affects the business, for example, if illnesses spread among employees, decrease productivity, intensify due to a lack of treatment, cause skilled employees to quit their jobs, etc. If these realities are ignored, and measures to cushion the impact of a mandate are necessary, then there are some options.

As stated earlier, small businesses should be allowed to enroll in the Federal option to minimize their premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and provide reliable coverage. Additional meaningful incentives could be offered to non-exempt small businesses, especially to encourage their enrollment sooner rather than later. (1) A small tax credit or subsidy could be offered for the first few years if they enroll promptly, to defray a portion of the costs and ease the financial burden. (2) To bolster economic recovery and revitalization too, a tax credit for hiring employees could be made available to small businesses if they purchase health insurance prior to a specified date. (3) An investment tax credit for purchase of durable capital equipment could be available to small businesses if they purchase insurance by a specified date. Both of the latter two tax credits would serve as incentives for early participation in the employer mandate, and help stimulate the economy at the same time.

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE / LIABILITY INSURANCE REFORM

Despite the intrepid popularity ratings of lawyers and volumes of lawyer jokes, medical malpractice laws serve a vital role in ensuring appropriate health care and providing recourse for medical errors. Yet, they do add to the cost of health care. For years, Republicans’ calls for reform in this area have practically been a mantra, closely tied to their desires to limit lawsuits, and tort and product liability laws.

First, health care providers often engage in duplicative and unnecessary care and tests so as to insulate themselves from potential lawsuits if an undesirable health outcome should result. The key to eliminating these extraneous “defensive medicine” costs is not through legal reform, but rather, through the adoption of HIT. When electronic medical records and practice guidelines are fully implemented throughout our health care system, defensive medicine will be ameliorated by the access of providers to patient records of treatment, tests, and health history, as well as the guidance from aggregated data.

Second, there have been many instances in which patients have sued providers and insurers in response to an undesirable health outcome. Although even the best health care cannot guarantee successful health outcomes, some patient lawsuits fail to recognize this. To minimize the burden of frivolous lawsuits, one option would be to encourage (or require) patients to first pursue their claims through mediation or arbitration. Many claims will be able to be resolved through such channels, while others may result in the patient realizing that their claim should not be pursued further. Naturally, however, patients should still retain their full rights, following such a hearing, to escalate their claims through the courts.

Third, the rise in medical malpractice liability insurance premiums in recent years has been disproportionate to the incidence of medical errors, medical malpractice claims, and court settlements. It has been difficult to assess the justifiability of premium rates due to the lack of data from liability insurers. (1) Increased reporting from liability insurers is necessary, e.g., premium rates and revenues, claims paid, medical incidents defended, etc. (2) Greater scrutiny of liability insurers would enhance accountability through reasonable regulation of their premium rate structures, in order to alleviate the burden on doctors, hospitals, and others.

BOTTOM LINE

Health care reform in 2009 is absolutely essential. As the reform debate hones in on remaining critical and challenging issues, it is imperative that all stakeholders dedicate themselves toward finding common ground. Practical solutions can be developed on a bipartisan basis, to serve the needs of all constituents, whether they be those of moderate and conservative Republicans, or progressive and “Blue Dog” Democrats. The final bill will not have everything that any single lawmaker would want. But meaningful reform is in everyone’s best interests, and requires everyone’s whole-hearted commitment and willingness to support a package that meets core objectives for America’s urgent needs. Through creative solutions, the final result will be a key to a sustainable health care system for decades to come.