A Health Plan for Maryland
Part 1
Soon, the Maryland Legislature will convene in Annapolis and the
Governor-elect has promised that healthcare will be a major
priority of his administration. This is a lobbyist’s and a
consultant’s dream, and that, my friends is the problem-too many
lobbyists and too many consultants. On this issue, the halls of
Annapolis will be filled to the brim, and I wonder how any
legislator will be able to make sense of anything. Consultants
will tout their ideas like they have just come back from a
pilgrimage to Mount Olympus, while presenting the veterans and
newly elected with a long list of credentials bolstering their
pet views. Most of them remind me of armchair Generals who have
never been under live fire.
Our elected representatives will soon be on the fast tract in
Annapolis. They will be bombarded with an array of bills
concerning every conceivable issue that they must consider. Some
bills will fall by the wayside for various reasons, but many
will require their vote. Time is also limited, so understanding
the implications of each bill is a daunting task. In addition,
they must keep an eye towards their electorate because four
years creeps up quite fast in politics as Governor Robert
Ehrlich well knows. For this reason, a review of some basic
ideas is in order. Later columns will focus on different aspects
of the issue because it is a difficult one.
In addition, they must keep an eye towards their electorate
because four years creeps up quite fast in politics as Governor
Robert Ehrlich well knows.
Healthcare will be on the table in Annapolis, and something will
be passed either this year or the next. Providers {I detest that
word} will want to protect their interests and attempt to get a
foot into whatever door may open to them. As a consequence,
legislators and Governor-elect Martin O’Malley’s staff may find
it very difficult to craft a bill that will benefit the citizens
of Maryland. For this reason, I think a discussion of basic
healthcare principles is in order. Two words are of utmost
importance: Affordable and Portable. An Affordable plan is a
must, and will be the subject of this article.
... nobody wants to insure the sick
people. ...
A healthcare plan depends on the size of the insured pool, the
higher the pool, the lower the premiums. Every health insurance
company competes for the largest number of enrollees possible,
with a caveat: nobody wants to insure the sick people. It is a
fact that elderly people have more medical problems, but the
insurance companies have avoided that problem since Congress
passed Medicare in 1968. {Every American should be required to
read a Medicare directive when it comes down on high to the
providers}. The beaurocracy of the plan’s administration is
astounding! It has more rules and regulations than imaginable.
A healthcare plan needs to be simple. A huge pool of enrollees
is absolutely necessary to make any plan affordable. In
addition, an affordable plan should be available to the
individual at the same rate that a large company pays. After
all, what is America all about-the big corporations or the
individual citizen? A patchwork approach will be just that-more
paper work, more gripes from those forced to work under a failed
attempt, higher cost, and most importantly, another failure to
the citizens of Maryland.
It may even be possible to include
Medicaid recipients ...
An innovative approach would see the state get behind a
competitive fee-for-service plan which would be available to all
Marylanders, including state employees. It may even be possible
to include Medicaid recipients in such a plan. Wouldn’t it be
great to be able to go to any licensed physician in the state at
any time without some beaurocrat harping on you that you can’t
do this or you can’t do that? Would it be great if a provider
did not have to spend a week on the telephone getting approval
for a test?
A truly affordable fee-for-service plan must also have a cap on
fees. No provider would be able to charge above the fee
schedule. Those physicians who enter the program and agree to
the terms would be given a break on their malpractice rates.
Most of all, any self employed person, individual or family
should be able to buy the insurance at any time through their
insurance agent. In addition, prescription drugs must be
addressed, but that is for another article.
