Health Care Affordability Act

[Guest Post by Representative Sarah Copeland Hanzas]

On Thursday, the House Health Care committee passed out the Health Care Affordability Act on a 9-2 vote.

First Step - Catamount Health

The bill is a fundamental first step at controlling the inflation that drives our insurance costs. It does this by creating a system of coordinated care for chronic illnesses and by reducing the amount of bad debt and charity care in our health care system caused by uninsured Vermonters who need medical treatment. Unlike other some other places, in Vermont people are not turned away if they can’t pay. Hospitals must make up the shortfall by billing insurance companies a higher amount to cover this debt. Estimates are that this amounts to a 7% tax on all our insurance premiums.

The bill calls for the creation of a health plan that would be available to uninsured Vermonters. Catamount health, as it is called, would be an affordable health benefit modeled after the state employees’ benefit that is offered by CIGNA. The premium would be set according to a person’s income so it’s sensitive to one’s ability to pay.

Chronic Care Waits

The chronic care coordination system is called Vermont’s Blueprint for Health. Eighty percent of our health care dollars are spent on people with chronic conditions like heart disease, asthma or diabetes. Most of these people are not getting the right care at the right time which would prevent the advance of their illness. There are simple, preventive measures patients can follow which head off more expensive hospital interventions. The Blueprint would require care management to ensure more Vermonters get the front-end care that makes chronic conditions less expensive and keeps Vermonters healthier. Estimates are that up to 12% savings in our health care system can be realized simply by making sure people with chronic conditions are doing what the doctors prescribe.

The Blueprint effort has been underway for a while in a voluntary way, with doctors, insurance companies and Health Department officials collaborating on designing a system to get better care to patients. The bill calls for the Department of Health to accelerate the pace of reforms and to coordinate with Medicare, Medicaid, the new Catamount health and private insurance companies. The plan will eliminate barriers to people getting the care they need.

Bill is on the Way

This health reform bill will travel next to the House money committees and the will be presented on the House floor. After House passage the bill will travel to the Senate for committee consideration, then on to the governor’s desk.

Not Enough

It was a grieving process for me to come to the realization that we would not be able to pass a sweeping restructuring of the health care system. Spiraling health care costs are crippling businesses, town budgets, school budgets and household budgets. It’s such a no-brainer that something must be done! This bill is a good faith effort to make positive change for a portion of Vermonters who don’t have any health care security. That, to me, is more valuable than playing a political game with the governor. The bottom line is Vermonters need to send a clear message that this is not enough, we must do more.

What Can You DO?

There are several actions you can take:

1. Call your legislators
   Ask your legislators (no matter what party they belong to) in the Vermont House and Vermont Senate to support this bill, and to work for a more comprehensive bill in the next session.
   
2. Call the Governor's office.
   Ask the Governor to sign this bill when it reaches his desk.
   
3. Write letters to the editor.
   Let your neighbors know that a first-step health care bill is on its way, and their support is needed.
   
4. Call into local radio shows.
   Bring this issue to the attention of listeners. If no one calls, they won't hear about it.