Issue Updates

Health Care Reform White Paper (PDF)

 

October 2008

Earlier this year, the Ohio legislature passed House Bill 125 which established certain limitations on contracts between health care providers and insurers. Additionally, the bill created a study committee to review the flow of eligibility and claims information between providers, employers, patients and insurers.

The study committee, officially named the Real Time Eligibility and Claim Adjudication Study Committee, is made up of physicians, insurance companies, health care administrators, technology vendors and members of the business community. The Ohio Chamber is a member of this study committee and is working diligently to ensure that any recommendations made by the committee do not adversely affect employers choosing to provide health insurance to their employees.

Specifically, the committee is working to speed up and improve the process for which a health care provider receives payment for services. The goal is to make paying a physician as easy as paying for a prescription. By streamlining the system, patients could see a provider, establish that they have coverage, receive an accurate bill and pay before they leave. The study committee will continue to meet in the coming months in order to make final recommendations.

 

September 2008

Governor Ted Strickland's Strategic Coverage Initiative Team made its final recommendations regarding how to provide insurance coverage for at least 500,000 of the 1.2 million uninsured Ohioans by 2011. Final recommendations were presented to governor Strickland in late June.

The recommendations include: a requirement that all employers provide premium-only "Section 125" plans so employees can purchase health insurance with pre-tax dollars; an increase in the eligible age for dependent coverage to 29; a state reinsurance program that would help make insurance more affordable for small businesses, employees and individuals; sliding-scale state subsidies for Ohioans who make between 100% and 300% of the federal poverty level; programs that increase the participation of eligible Ohioans in Medicaid and leverage more federal Medicaid dollars; market reforms that include a mandate that all Ohioans purchase a basic benefit plan if they are able to purchase affordable coverage; and a one-stop "Connector" where Ohioans can obtain information about coverage options, eligibility for subsidies, etc. To view details of these recommendations click here.

These recommendations are now in the hands of the governor for his consideration. At this point, the exact cost of the recommendations is unknown. However, depending on which recommendations the governor chooses to implement, costs could be minimal or upwards of $2 billion if all recommendations are accepted at their most robust levels. The governor is not expected to act until sometime next year.

 

June 2008

Gov. Strickland's Health Care Coverage Advisory Council spent the first 5 months of this year working to figure out how to provide health care coverage for 500,000 of the 1.2 million uninsured Ohioans by 2011. The Council has so far been considering a number of initiatives and should be submitting a revised plan in the coming weeks to the governor – a plan that could cost more than $1 billion.

Rep. Jim Raussen has also been working during the last year on health care coverage and traveled the state last summer to gather input from Ohioans regarding what needs to be done to improve health care. The bill he introduced after gathering this input, House Bill 456, includes several provisions including an Ohio Health Insurance Risk Pool that would help lower premiums for employers. With the legislature now in recess, perhaps until after the November election, no more action is expected on this bill in the immediate future. Beyond proposals to expand health care access and affordability, other health related bills are pending in the legislature.

Since January 2007, legislators have introduced 15 health care mandates! All of these bills would require employers to include additional benefits in the packages they provide their employees. Such mandates take away choice and flexibility from employers and force them into a one-size-fits-all situation. Since mandates make businesses less competitive, we may ask for your help in the fall should any of these 15 bills move forward in the legislative process. Two proposals that deal with mental health parity and diabetes would be particularly troublesome to businesses if passed and will therefore remain a focus of the Chamber this fall.

 

May 2008

Governor Ted Strickland's Health Care Coverage Advisory Council continues to work on recommendations to find insurance coverage for at least 500,000 of the 1.2 million uninsured Ohioans by 2011. The Council recently reviewed the first draft of recommendations that, when finalized, will be presented to Governor Strickland.

The recommendations include: a requirement that all employers provide premium-only "Section 125" plans so employees can purchase health insurance with pre-tax dollars; an increase in the eligible age for dependent coverage to 29; a state reinsurance program that would help make insurance more affordable for small businesses, employees and individuals; sliding-scale state subsidies for Ohioans who make between 100% and 300% of the federal poverty level; programs that increase the participation of eligible Ohioans in Medicaid and leverage more federal Medicaid dollars; market reforms that include a mandate that all Ohioans purchase a basic benefit plan if they are able to purchase affordable coverage; and a one-stop "Connector" where Ohioans can obtain information about coverage options, eligibility for subsidies, etc. The final recommendations are expected to be released soon and could carry a price tag of more than $1 billion.

Rep. Jim Raussen recently introduced a substitute version of House Bill 456 which includes several of the same provisions as the original version. The substitute version of the bill removes the reinsurance program and replaces it with the Ohio Health Insurance Risk Pool – a high risk pool for Ohioans that meet certain criteria. This pool would help lower premiums for employers while ensuring more Ohioans have access to health care. If there are further developments regarding this issue over the summer we will keep you posted.

 

April 2008

Governor Ted Strickland’s Health Care Coverage Advisory Council has been meeting regularly since September and is looking at ways to increase the number of Ohioans with access to health care coverage. The two main goals of the Governor’s initiative are to expand health care coverage to at least 500,000 more uninsured Ohioans by 2011 and help small businesses offer affordable coverage.

One of the changes being considered under this initiative is to have employers set up premium-only Section “125” plans. These plans allow employees to set aside pre-tax dollars toward health care expenses. This would save employees money while not excessively burdening employers with additional costs. We expect a draft of the council's recommendations in May and a final report sometime this summer.

Rep. Jim Raussen is also working on a health care proposal that would drastically change coverage for Ohioans. House Bill 456 is the result of last summer's health care hearings that were conducted across the state. One aspect of House Bill 456 would provide Bureau of Workers' Compensation discounts to small businesses that offer health care coverage, wellness programs or both to their employees. Another aspect would create a reinsurance program which would help offset the risk that an insurance company would take on when insuring individuals. This benefits businesses, especially small businesses, because it helps keep premiums at a reasonable rate. The bill was introduced in January and has had nine hearings to date. With the information collected in these hearings, Rep. Raussen is expected to introduce a more focused version of his bill sometime in May.

Both proposals have the potential to reform Ohio's health care system – though their costs could be substantial.

 

November 2007

Gov. Ted Strickland’s “Ohio Health Care Coverage Reform Initiative” is now underway. His comprehensive reform initiative’s goal is to expand health care coverage to at least 500,000 more uninsured Ohioans by 2011.

He has assembled a massive team of advisors to find the best solutions for increasing health care access. The Ohio Chamber has been an active member of the initiative’s advisory committee, and will continue to push for the interests of business as the initiative moves forward. Questions like “Who should be covered?” and “Where will the funding come from?” still need to be answered, but the answers to those questions are likely to be innovative and similar to health care reforms in Massachusetts and New York. One thing is for certain: employers should only be satisfied with changes that improve their ability to provide coverage while utilizing high-impact solutions at the lowest cost.

 

October 2007

A major health care bill, House Bill 125, is on the move in Columbus, and has already passed through the House. Reforms to the health care system are badly needed, but unfortunately, this bill looks more like a step in the wrong direction.

HB 125, introduced by Rep. Matt Huffman (R-Lima), makes major changes to the contractual relationships between health insurers, physicians, and other providers of health care services. This bill represents a major interference by state government in the contracting process between private parties, and it is likely to result in unnecessary increases in the cost of health insurance and less access to physicians in health plan networks. Some progress was made as the Ohio Chamber advocated for amendments to the bill, which focused on removing provisions that unnecessarily increase costs and deterred the ability to bring consumer-directed health care products to the market.

The business community should always be wary of legislation that does nothing to improve health care insurance access and affordability. And now the bill moves to the Senate, where the Chamber remains committed to advocating for further changes

 

September 2007

Last month, legislators held five regional forums to hear the perspective of businesses, doctors, insurance companies, consumers, and others for improving health care coverage. Now, lawmakers are drafting a bill with potential solutions for increasing health care access and affordability, which we anticipate will be introduced soon by Rep. Jim Raussen (R-Cincinnati).

The Ohio Chamber is gearing up for yet another battle over government health care mandates. Bills requiring health insurance coverage for diabetes treatment have already been introduced, which could mean higher premiums for employers if passed. House Bill 137 was introduced by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Columbus) and Rep. Michelle Schneider (R-Cincinnati), and a similar version has been introduced by Sen. Randy Gardner (R-Bowling Green). And just last week, Gov. Strickland publicly endorsed the proposals. This is an area where we may need businesses to get more involved in the months to come.

But there’s good news, too. Gov. Strickland has formed a new advisory board to find ways to give individuals and health care professionals better access to their personal medical records to avoid long waits and improve diagnosis. The Ohio Chamber supports efforts that result in greater transparency and give consumers greater access to their personal medical information.





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