THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 9, 1994 TAG: 9410070298
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Guest Column
SOURCE: BY JAMES E. WALSH
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
The intention of the City of Chesapeake to award its employee health insurance plan to Sentara Health System (The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, Sept. 15) is a typical example of how aggressive health-care business corporations in this nation operate their monopolies. It is one more step taken by Sentara toward its planned domination in health care in the Hampton Roads area, after a report disclosing its acquisition of several medical practices in primary care. Despite its claims of cost-saving and quality care, such pattern of monopolizing should alarm the American public. Discrimination against financially disadvantaged citizens, such as Medicare and Medicaid recipients, is increasingly reported.
Neither advancement in medical technology nor greedy physicians should be blamed for the skyrocketing costs of health care. The unnecessary bureaucratic management system forcibly mounted on health care is largely responsible.
Thanks to the Clintons' health care reform plan, calling for ``managed care competition,'' business management and bureaucracy continue their exploitation of the American public and physicians by expanding their managed care systems to deny necessary services more often to patients and purge patient-advocate physicians from their lists of approved practitioners. Such practice directly causes deterioration of quality care and allows no choice for patients. Businessmen in health care and bureaucrats are rationing our health care for the sake of raking huge profits into health care corporations and giving obscene compensation and perks to their executives. The managed care system would be called socialized medicine if it were run by the government.
The Coalition of the Public and Physicians for Sensible Health Care Reform, U.S.A. has concluded that it is beyond our hope that health care business management and bureaucrats will reduce the health care cost and maintain quality care as the free market philosophy applies. The recent report on kickbacks between Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Virginia (possibly involving other insurance companies, too) and hospital sectors evidently supports our conclusion. The American public and physicians must refuse the continuing exploitation by health care business management and bureaucrats and jointly reform the American health care system with the patient's welfare as its centerpiece.
The coalition has completed a synopsis of its health care reform plan and would like to give some advice to the City of Chesapeake (and other business establishments) on its employee health insurance plan as the following:
Remind employees that the employer-contributed health insurance premium is not a gift from employer but a part of the employee's pre-tax earnings. Therefore, each employee should be concerned about how it is spent.
Create an insurance pool for employees with a portion of allowed pre-tax contributions as premiums.
Set up an individual health savings account for each employee to pay for deductible annually. Contribute to the accounts with the other portion of the allowed pre-tax contributions. Replenish the account annually to meet the set amount. The allowed pre-tax contribution for an employee in excess to the combined contributions on his behalf to the insurance pool and health savings account will be paid to that employee as a taxable bonus. Such financial incentive will give employees decision-making power and reduce unnecessary utilization and costs of health care.
Allow employees to use any hospital of their choice when hospitalization is needed, and request itemized hospital bills for monitoring and publicizing the inflated and falsified charges.
Allow employees to visit any physician of their choice and request a voluntary discount on physician's fees for services provided to employees. Inform employees of physicians' fee schedules for monitoring quality care and reasonable charges and encouraging free competition among physicians.
Health care reform is a complex issue and does not limit itself to the scope of health insurance, hospitals and physicians. Our reform plan will simplify, not complicate, the system to achieve our goals: cost containment, quality care, individual choice and affordable accessibility and ensure basic health care to all Americans. MEMO: Mr. Walsh is chairman of the board of trustees of the Coalition of the
Public and Physicians for Sensible Health Care Reform U.S.A. of
Portsmouth, a non-profit organization.
by CNB