Government meddles in health insurance - again
I will make a prediction: this new bill, now law, will do nothing to keep health premiums low and will not do as lawmakers believe it will. This is government legislating what the insurance marketplace can offer - it is a government mandate. Good intentions, but flawed; nothing more than another attempt at social (and socialized) engineering.
NH governor signs insurance bill for small businesses
By NORMA LOVE
CONCORD, N.H. - Small businesses in New Hampshire are on way to having more affordable health insurance.
Gov. John Lynch has signed into law the HealthFirst initiative. It will require major insurance carriers to offer a standard wellness plan for businesses with up to 50 employees. Premium costs will be controlled by focusing on prevention, managing chronic conditions and promoting best practices.
"Small businesses are the backbone of the state's economy and a critical link in our health care system," said Lynch. "Too many small businesses are facing decisions about severely limiting coverage or dropping coverage altogether. That is a decision no small business should be faced with and one that could be devastating to workers."Once again, we see from the Liberals the implicit assumption that healthcare is a right.
A true Right stands on its own - it needs nothing from my fellow citizen for me to enjoy that right - Free Speech costs my neighbor nothing along with the other Rights accorded to me from God as defined in the Declaration of Independance and the Constitution. Yet, what Governor Lynch fails to include is that this Right demands that for me to enjoy this right, the large hand of the State must stick its hand into my fellow citizen's wallet.
Sorry, that is not a Right - that is wealth redistribution.
Under the new law, the Insurance Department will create a committee whose members include small business owners. It will design the wellness plan with a target premium of 10 percent of the prior year's median wage, currently about $262 a month. That compares with $325 per month - the current average cost for an HMO plan for a small business.
Right - YACTKBTIWMFN - Yet Another Committee That Knows Better Than I What My Family Needs. I am quite sure that once started, legislators won't be able to help themselves from mandating this thing to a multiple of that 10%. You know what this reminds me of?
An actuary will assess whether the plan can be offered for the target price before insurers are asked to provide it. The new law calls for the plan to be offered in October 2009.
Yup - Fire, aim, ready!
Lynch said the plan will shift the focus to prevention and controlling costs.
"This is a plan focused on the patient and keeping the patient healthy," he said.
Sen. Kathleen Sgambati, the measure's prime sponsor, said the law will give small businesses the same ability to negotiate with insurers now enjoyed by large employers.
"Small businesses just don't have the clout in negotiating now. They don't have the numbers," said Sgambati, D-Tilton.
Sgambati said the plan will not control costs by limiting services, but by using the wellness model larger companies use to save on costs.
Note to the Senator - most wellness" schticks are not well used at all. Properly PRd on the small amounts of folks that bother, or by having the firms enforce health behavior, then maybe. But otherwise, yer dreaming.
Kevin Boyarsky of Print Solutions in Concord said his company has used three different insurance carriers in the past three years to try to retain affordable coverage for workers.
"It's terrific," he said of the new law.
Lynch signed the bill Monday. It takes effect in 60 days.
Look, I ran a small business and I would have loved to have been able to offer my employees a health plan. However, any plan worth implementing would have been too expensive.
Again, I predict this will fail.
Comments
Posted by: Michael Kitch | May 28, 2008 3:44 PM