
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, June 15, 1993                   TAG: 9306150280
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BY BONNIE V. WINSTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

WILDER `TROUBLED' BY HEALTH-CARE REFORM'S COST

The Clinton Administration's plans for health-care reform are "impressive," but Virginia may not be able to afford to pay for them, Gov. Douglas Wilder suggested Monday.

"I am still troubled by how [the program] will be financed and who will pay for it," Wilder said at the end of the first day of a two-day, televised economic summit to discuss strategies for coping with financial pressures on state government.

Dr. Judith Feder, a deputy adviser to Clinton's health-care reform task force, outlined the universal health-care program, which is expected to be unveiled sometime this summer.

Because of the scope of the federal initiative, Virginia's plans to aid more than 900,000 medically uninsured residents have been put on hold.

The state already is struggling with the price tag of the state/federal Medicaid health program for the poor.

As state tax revenues are shrinking, Medicaid costs are continuing to grow, now taking up more than 13 percent of the commonwealth's two-year, $13 billion general-fund budget.

Feder cautioned that while final decisions have not been made on the federal health plan, state governments will be expected to help finance a package of guaranteed health benefits for uninsured and underinsured residents.

States will design and operate the programs, which will give participants their choice of doctor and assurance of coverage regardless of age, health status or previous medical condition.

No one will be at risk of losing coverage, and there will be a focus on coverage for preventive care, Feder said.

Premiums will be the same for everyone in the coverage pool, and there will be a cap on annual premium increases, Feder said.

She also said that in addition to government, all employees, employers and those participating in the health plan are expected to contribute to its cost.

But Wilder said later that Virginia cannot afford to pay more than what it already contributes to Medicaid.

And he questioned what will happen should the federal plan include a wider array of benefits than Virginia provides for state employees.

by CNB