A Health Care Plan for All Rhode Islanders

I've blogged on this before & will continue to do so. I thought I'd be hearing more PLANS on this topics, but not so.

Today I went to a discussion with a number of local business people and the Health Care Commissioner. MANY problems and concerns were brought up. A number of times issues with insurers were mentioned with the commish commenting that what happened to them was illegal and he wanted to speak with them later. Hey, this was a SMALL group. They get away with this as the rules of the game are so darn complex that few know/understand them.

Our good Sen. Gibbs was the introducer. She said she became interested in the topic because of calls she had rec'd on insurance costs. Gee, no duh! Where has she been? Blue Cross rates have been running double digits incrases for 10 yrs.! She needed phone calls? I guess she doesn't pay any healthcare bills. Lucky.

She touted over 24 meetings of a commission that she sits on. Let's see what they accomplished (her words): year 1: Came up with idea of appointing a health insurance commission (only took the Guv 2 yrs. to actually do this). 2. Regulation of nursing homes. A beginning but they seem to have stopped. Of course it took tragedies to spur any action. Have you had any contact with nursing homes or assisted living facilities lately? Staffing problems, accessibility to information regarding their inspection history, not to mention cost problems still remain. And how about housing for the elderly? 3. The "H.C. Affordability Act." How many of you have seen your health care become affordable? Sounds like an oxymoron title to me.

Do I hold the legislature responsible? I do, but to a limited extent. BTW, the Commissioner touted adding hearing aid coverage to Medicaid this session. Gibbs cast NO VOTE on this act. Nope, not an abstain (you'd have to give a reason), not a no or a yes. Just no vote. We have a part-time legislature which basically reacts to the Guv's budget & proposal initiatives. He's basically screamed defeat on this one & "solved" the problem by cutting people out of the system. And his Republican legislators (June & others) said NOTHING. If it hadn't been for a DEMOCRATIC legislature, this is how the budget would have been balanced. He later backed down from cutting "Meals on Wheels" by 40% (!) but never balanced the budget. Now there's a plan for you.

So for those of you who don't know, a family plan costs appx. $1100/mo. Inflation keeps these costs rising about 12%/yr. (you get a raise like that every yr., right?) If you earned a salary of %60,000/yr. (middle class) you'd still come up short (don't forget extra pocket costs).

Newport Co. has the highest no. of uninsured in the state. These are not poor families or the elderly. They get coverage (which we all pay for). These are working people and children. So what's the plan here? Beats me. And I listened carefully. The focus seems to be on offering a greatly reduced benefit plan to small business called "Well Care." Of course since much of the costs of keeping yourself well aren't covered, it seems rather an oxymoron title. This will be subsidized (figures weren't mentioned - probably because we'd laugh or cry).

I suggested that as a small business owner who could never afford heath insurance for employees that I'd like a divorce. I want to manage my business, not go through the health care maze. The commish wanted to know how. I suggested making Blue Cross the state insurer. They are non-profit & we have some control over them. The management also doesn't make billion dollar salaries like United Healthcare. He also asked if I really wanted the gov't to control healthcare. Hey, I spent the entire day in the emergency ward with my son only be sent back to the Doctor who had sent us there. He laughed & said he had the same problem when his son got a broken arm. But he'd had better luck than me after making a few quick calls. Nice. The system we have now doesn't seem to have much to cling on to. And frankly, the government seems to do a pretty darn good job in its health care role (Medicare).

I like the proposal written in a recent "R.I. Policy Reporter" & authored by Dr. Nick Tsongias (check the archives). I like it so much that it's on my web site as policy that I support. We need ONE insurer who we control. We need A PLAN. We need COST CONTROLS. We need to cover EVERYONE. Hello! Bold Action. If the fed'l gov't isn't going to do anything (2/3 of Amer. believe that health care is a gov't responsibility), then who else is left but the states? BTW, my opponent does NOT believe that health care is a gov't responsibility. Do you know her stand on major issues? I'm out there everyday in the community. I don't just talk (I get sick of listening to myself), I LISTEN. I don't just want to be reactive, I want pro-active legislators.