Lawmakers to Study Major Health Care Proposal

This week, the Insurance and Real Estate Committee voted to study the wide-ranging health care reform proposals contained in HB-6600.

Known as the Sustinet Plan, the proposal contained many recommendations, including those that actually would have reduced costs, improve quality and help more people gain access to health insurance.

However, as originally drafted, HB-6600 also would have created a massive, government-run health care conglomerate, expanding state government’s ability to control health care decision-making and giving it more management authority. It also would have charged many employers to pay to participate in the plan and taxpayers would have been forced to shoulder the costs.

While taking time to evaluate any proposal as costly as HB-6600 is a good idea, the amendment’s call to create the study is still very broad and highly confusing.

Surprisingly, the amendment treats the government takeover as a fait accompli, mandating its implementation even before a study is to take place.

CBIA strongly encourages state lawmakers to actually study the issue before making final decisions. The best road to health care reform steers clear of costly and government-expanding proposals and focuses instead on lowering costs, bolstering quality, and increasing access.