Blues: States have a key role in health care debate

 

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20 February 2009 Friday 03:56 PM EST

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Blues: States have a key role in health care debate

Sean P Carr

WASHINGTON



States have a powerful role to play in the development of the reform of federal health care, even though the debate back to shift the capital of Washington, DC, representatives from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association said.

With every four hours, but state governments predict the budget deficit this year, the political realities of the economic crisis are state officials refuse to resort to measures of overall reform of health, said Susan Laudicina, BCBSA director of research and public policy. However, state governments have generally been the leaders of innovation and experimentation, and they bring their expertise to federal discussions, "she says.

"Member States did not wait for the federal government to act," said Laudicina.

Laudicina and Alissa Fox, Senior Vice President, office of political representation and discusses the association has published its latest annual report on the state of health care and insurance issues.

In 2008, legislation to adopt employer "play or pay" mandates failed in seven states and mandates to require insurance coverage was lower in four states. California's plan for universal coverage has come from the larger bill to reform to become law (BestWire, Jan. 30, 2009), it fell short of what Laudicina called "a very high failure."

The Blues' Association supports a federal approach to reform that takes the role of States as a primary health insurance regulation. It supports an individual mandate coupled with guaranteed issue and a reliance on private plans, not new government programs.

"To really do the job of insurance, you need everybody," said Fox.

Fox touted the use of "state insurance marts, which could serve as the central portal, or connectors to reduce the complexity of health insurance shopping and encourage transparency and competition. A national universal connector would anticipate the state of flexibility, "she says.

Fox said she is very excited at the prospect of federal health care reform in the coming years, citing an "energy and commitment" to the question in Washington who was not there before.

The BCBSA has a positive vision of the first of two new laws of the Obama administration related to health care, Fox said, an extension of the Children's Health Insurance Program, was vetoed twice by former President and stimulation, which develops grants for COBRA health insurance premiums paid by workers laid off and made to promote better health information technology (BestWire, Feb. 13, 2009).

The stimulus also includes $ 17.2 billion in funding for health infrastructure and information technology additional $ 2 billion in grants and loans to affiliates. It has set a target of 90% of physicians and 70% of hospitals to adopt electronic health records within the next decade, but combined with more stringent regulations on the transmission of health information identifiable. BCBSA and the other welcomes $ 1.1 billion in new funding for research on comparative effectiveness. He proposed the establishment of an institute funded by industry to provide recommendations on the most cost-effective medical treatments (BestWire, Feb. 13, 2009).

(By Sean P. Carr, senior editor, BestWeek: Sean.Carr @ ambest.com)

21 February 2009

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