I've just now finished reading through the thirty-odd responses I had to a post I did here on health care reform about a month ago. And they keep coming. Highlights of some of those comments--and those of folks that participated in the recent Health and Human Services Committee hearings in Las Vegas and Taos-- are posted here, too. (See below).
Models for New Mexico Health Care Reform - An Update
But first, an update on what's happening at the state level now that the Health Coverage for New Mexicans Task Force has wrapped up, the administration has weighed in and the legislature is beginning its work on this important issue.
The centerpiece of the Task Force was a study by Mathematica, an independent health policy consulting group hired to price out three different models of universal coverage for everyone under 65 years of age in New Mexico.
* the Health Security Act, which most closely approximates a single payer system
* the Health Choices Plan, which is a market-based voucher system
* the Health Coverage Model, largely an extension of the present system aimed mainly at those who are uninsured.
Mathematica also analyzed the cost of continuing the present system.
To make a long story short, the estimates for implementation of the four plans (the fourth being a continuation of the present system) came in as follows:
*the Health Security Plan would cost $6.03 billion
* the Voucher Plan would cost $6.7 billion and
* the Coverage Plan would cost $6.4 billion.
The cost of the current system (with over 400,000 uninsured) is currently $6.3 billion. The costs were then projected out over five years and the amazing conclusion was this: It will cost only incrementally more to implement a universal health care system for New Mexico than it will cost to do nothing and let the number of uninsured New Mexicans increase every year.
Does that get your attention? It got mine. If that's not a call to action what is?
Here are a few interesting tidbits from the study (in no particular order):
*There are more uninsured New Mexicans than we thought - 432,000 who are without coverage more than six months out of the year; Almost half the population is uninsured at some point during the year
*Employers (those who do offer coverage in New Mexico) are now paying 12-14 % of payroll on health care insurance and it is increasing every year
*Under new eligibility rules enacted by the legislature this year more than half of uninsured New Mexicans would be eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP if the state and the feds came up with the money and the department was able to sign them all up
*New Mexico is mischaracterized as a "small-employer" state; approximately as many private-sector workers are employed in very large firms in New Mexico as are employed in small firms.
The Final Report to the Governor and the Legislature from the Task Force is due out any day now-stay tuned at http://insurenewmexico.state.nm.us .
Although the task force did not endorse any one of the plans, it did make some general recommendations including insurance reforms, creating a larger risk pool, maximizing Medicaid and creating a single health care authority. The Governor publicly stated he is against any plan that does not have a role for the insurance companies, although he is in favor of insurance reforms. The administration is widely expected to begin floating a draft in September.
Meanwhile the Health and Human Services Committee, which I chair, is examining this issue in depth and will either have its own bill or modifications to the administration's proposal. The committee is taking testimony on health care reform at its hearings around the state this summer and fall.
The next hearings are in Zuni Pueblo Aug. 22 and in Gallup on Aug. 23 and 22. Comments on health care reform are generally taken around 5:30- 7:00 pm each evening.
The September hearings will be held in Hobbs and Roswell, and
in October we'll be in Espanola and Santa Fe. Check the legislative web site at http://legis.state.nm.us and go to "agendas and calendars. "
Meanwhile here's what some people around the state are saying.
"I have been left with nothing but my dignity," said Pat Leahan, uninsured, of Las Vegas. "I live on $8,000 a year. My sister and I sold everything to pay for my (other) sister's breast cancer treatment. We said she'd have the best, and now we are left with nothing, so I go to the emergency room."
"If you don't have the money for a kidney transplant and your insurance doesn't cover it, you die," said Lee Einer, a self-styled insurance whistleblower who appeared in Michael Moore's SICO and testified at the HHS hearing in Las Vegas, NM
"When I go to my provider to talk about my bill, he says, 'don't ask me I didn't make this mess'…. I play by the rules, but the rules don't' play by my needs, Mardequeo Chacon, at the Taos HHS committee.
"My biggest problem with the health care is the cost. People who can afford' healthcare are expected to pay for it. The key term is 'afford.' I have a five-month-old son who must have health insurance. I also have a car payment, mortgage, credit card bills, loans, etc. If I have to choose between health care and paying my bills each month, which should I choose? Especially when I'm not sick or hurt? Secondly, not having health insurance penalizes people exorbitantly. An emergency room visit can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. A two to four day stay in the hospital, perhaps after a car accident or fall, could potentially bankrupt me and ruin the rest of my life. Even with these risks I can't afford health insurance and all my other bills.
Lastly, there is one group of people whom the state and federal government pay (and US) their health insurance-Prison Inmates. It's sad that as a productive and lawful citizen of the U.S.and New Mexico I can't afford health insurance unless I commit a crime and go to jail" -- James Boyd
"Okay, as a mother I am very concerned for my child and the coverage that she has. We pay over $120 a month for her coverage, plus $30 for regular doctor visits, and we have a huge deductible. I think that the coverage she receives is awful. We have to pay for shots that she receives, and anything above and beyond looking in her ears and nose. Why are the insurance companies allowed to have the cost of coverage so high and the benefits of the coverage so horrible? We need to take the power out of the hands of the big insurance companies and lower the cost, so that every American can afford coverage and feel a little bit more secure, if they ever really got sick!
Posted by: -- NG-a concerned mom
"I believe that a universal healthcare system in New Mexico and the United States would greatly impact families such as mine. We have completely negated any preventative care or even routine care when it comes to our health because we simply cannot afford to see a doctor without insurance. We are both students who are no longer covered under our parents' insurance, but work jobs that either do not offer insurance or the insurance is too expensive to carry. We would also no longer be riddled with new debt when we do have a healthcare emergency. What a sad state of affairs when one hopes that if they do get sick, they get hurt in their car because the car insurance covers part of it."
Posted by: -- Janelle
"I'm tired of being one of the ones that falls through the cracks. Too rich for any of the programs meant to help, too poor to pay for it myself. I'm tired of suffering with my many medical issues because I can't afford to seek treatment. When I finally do get insurance I'll have to worry about whether or not to get seen because if I lose my insurance it could mean I can't get treatment in the future now that the problems would be considered 'preexisting conditions.'What am I supposed to do?
I'm sick of hearing about all the corporate CEOs in this company with their multimillion (or billion) dollar compensation packages... I bet they can afford all the care they need! When did we decide that it was right for our CEOs to have so much money while the rest of the workers get paid a few tens of thousands at best? I'm not saying they don't deserve a lot more money. They do a whole lot more work. But can't we get things just a LITTLE more equitable? The bottom line? Healthcare shouldn't be a business. It benefits us all to keep our citizens healthy." -- Jennifer
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